25
Apr
42
It’s the meaning of life. And of course Liff.
The Meaning Of Liff is a book by Douglas Adams (Of Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy) and John Lloyd that seeks to find words for things that have never been named, such as:
SYMOND’S YAT (n.)
The little spoonful inside the lid of a recently opened boiled egg.
GLASSEL (n.)
A seaside pebble which was shiny and interesting when wet, and which is now a lump of rock, which children nevertheless insist on filing their suitcases with after the holiday.
THROCKING (participial vb.)
The action of continually pushing down the lever on a pop-up toaster in the hope that you will thereby get it to understand that you want it to toast something.
If you haven’t already guessed, these are all UK place names, which as an aside, I have actually visited. Including Liff which is a small village outside Dundee. The genius if the book is that as well as being so funny, so many of the things described do need naming, and the names they’ve chosen are so appropriate.
Global locations are not ignored either:
CHICAGO (n.)
The foul-smelling wind which precedes an underground railway train.
You should of course buy the book, but if you want a good laugh right now, you can read a transcript here.
Some Totally Unrelated Posts- No related posts
Readers who viewed this page, also viewed:
April 25th, 2007 at 7:20 pm
What a hoot! I love Douglas Adams anyway.
So, what do you call lint of any kind: “snitzies”!
April 25th, 2007 at 8:06 pm
Definite provocation here. Deliberate, too.
If I weren’t working, I’d comment.
(Reporting from Chicago….)
April 25th, 2007 at 8:51 pm
Are you in Chicago Curmudgeon? I never knew that…..
Actually my blog host resides in Chicago & I was thinking more of them. Besides, blame Douglas Adams…
April 27th, 2007 at 11:55 pm
Hmm. I have several glassels around the place. Good to finally know what to call them!
April 29th, 2007 at 9:48 pm
You’re not the only one.
Funnily enough (if you’re sad like me) Glassel is actually the site of a stone circle.
A collection of uber glassels…