{"product_id":"interesting-stories-about-curious-words-copy","title":"Hotcockles and Twittletwattle: Forgotten Words from Dr Johnson's Dictionary","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSamuel Johnson's mighty two-volume \u003cem\u003eDictionary of the English Language\u003c\/em\u003e was published in 1755 after seven years' research and provided the eighteenth century public with the first true lexicon of their own language. Elizabeth Drury has combed through Johnson's magnum opus to compile a new dictionary of forgotten, curious, hilarious and - occasionally - quite useful words.  From unfamiliar names for familiar objects such as \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ebedpresser (a heavy lazy fellow), muckender (handkerchief), and abecedarian (one who teaches the alphabet) to evocative and self-explanatory terms was as wantwit and skimble-skamble, this entertaining book introduces readers to an eclectic profusion of words that are either completely unfamiliar to a twenty-first-century reader or have acquired different meanings in modern usage. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHardback, including 70 illustrations\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMeasures \u003cspan\u003e20.4 x 13.8 cm \u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":64947884687737,"sku":"C2733","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1184\/9194\/files\/Hotcockles.jpg?v=1792513868","url":"https:\/\/www.theliterarygiftcompany.com\/products\/interesting-stories-about-curious-words-copy","provider":"The Literary Gift Company","version":"1.0","type":"link"}