Think You Know the English Language? Think Again…

ABC's Ammu Kannampilly reports from London:

If you think you know the English language, think again.

Adam Jacot de Boinod has spent his life in search of unusual English words and he’s found a treasure trove to delight anyone who enjoys the English language.

We have all heard of “spam”, but what about “ham”? No, we are not referring to the joys of meat-eating or the thrills of bad acting – a “ham” apparently refers to the opposite of spam, i.e. a legitimate email.

If that’s the sort of thing that tickles your fancy, you will find that and more in Adam Jacot de Boinod’s new book The Wonder of Whiffling. Here are a few of our favorite specimens:

handbags at ten paces (US slang 1991) a verbal spat, usually between athletes on the field of play

juck-cum-peng (Jamaican English 1943) imitating the sound made by a wooden-legged person walking

WOMBAT – Waste Of Money, Brains And Time

petrichor (1964) the pleasant smell that accompanies the first rain after a dry spell

Kojak with a Kodak (US 1970s) a policeman manning a radar speed trap

butler’s perks – opened but unfinished bottles of wine

slavermagullion (Scottish dialect) a foolish and lubberly person

have a face-ticket (British Museum Reading Room 1909) to be so well known to the janitors that one is not asked to present one’s ticket

trout pout (UK slang 2002) the effects of collagen injections that produce prominent, comically oversized lips resembling those of a dead fish instead of luscious attractive ones

to drive turkeys to market (19c) to walk in a drunken, unsteady manner (the turkey-driver is forced to follow the birds’ meandering course along the road)

pigeon’s milk (1777) an imaginary article for which children are sent on a fool’s errand (traditionally on Ist April)

Jennifer Lopez “J. Lo” (Wall Street jargon 2004) the rounding bottom in a stock’s price chart (Bo Derek: the perfect stock)   

For more such phrases, visit www.thewonderofwhiffling.com.