The Deeper Meaning of Liff: A Dictionary of Things There Aren't Any Words for Yet--But There Ought to Be

A rollicking, thought-provoking dictionary for the modern age, featuring definitions for those things we don't have words for, from the New York Times bestselling author behind The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams, and TV producer John Lloyd. Does the sensation of Tingrith(1) make you yelp? Do you bend sympathetically when you see someone Ahenny(2)? Can you deal with a Naugatuck(3) without causing a Toronto(4)? Will you suffer from Kettering(5) this summer? Probably. You are almost certainly familiar with all these experiences but just didnt know that there are words for them. Well, in fact, there arentor rather there werent, until Douglas Adams and John Lloyd decided to plug these egregious linguistic lacunae(6). They quickly realized that just as there are an awful lot of experiences that no one has a name for, so there are an awful lot of names for places you will never need to go to. What a waste. As responsible citizens of a small and crowded world, we must all learn the virtues of recycling(7) and put old, worn-out but still serviceable names to exciting, vibrant, new uses. This is the book that does that for you: The Deeper Meaning of Liffa whole new solution to the problem of Great Wakering(8) 1The feeling of aluminum foil against your fillings. 2The way people stand when examining other peoples bookshelves. 3A plastic packet containing shampoo, mustard, etc., which is impossible to open except by biting off the corners. 4Generic term for anything that comes out in a gush, despite all your efforts to let it out carefully, e.g., flour into a white sauce, ketchup onto fish, a dog into the yard, and another naughty meaning that we cant put on the cover. 5The marks left on your bottom and thighs after youve been sitting sunbathing in a wicker chair. 6God knows what this means 7For instance, some of this book was first published in Britain twenty-six years ago. 8Look it up yourself.