The Wonder of Whiffling

Book excerpt: The Wonder of Whiffling is a hugely enjoyable, surprising and rewarding tour of English around the globe (with fine coinages from our English-speaking cousins across the pond, Down Under and elsewhere).Discover all sorts of words you've always wished existed but never knew, such as fornale, to spend one's money before it has been earned; cagg, a solemn vow or resolution not to get drunk for a certain time; and petrichor, the pleasant smell that accompanies the first rain after a dry spell. Delving passionately into the English language, Adam Jacot de Boinod also discovers why it is you wouldn't want to have dinner with a vice admiral of the narrow seas, why Jacobites toasted the little gentleman in black velvet, and why a Nottingham Goodnight is better than one from anywhere else.