Word Perfect from Susie Dent is a book filled with words you either don’t often hear these days or the original meaning behind these words has long been forgotten. The book is set out in a diary format, so that you have one word a day, beginning on New Years Day with the word ‘Crambazzled’ which in old Yorkshire dialect means to be prematurely aged through excess drinking, a word a lot of people could use on the 1st January.

I love finding new words and some are intriguing such as ‘Choreomania’ which is the compulsion to dance. What’s more, is that every word not only has a definition but it also contains information about its origins and a factual story about something related to it. In this case, in 1374 in the town of Aachen, Germany it is recorded that the citizens congregated en masse and began to dance uncontrollably.

This is a book that will fill those who love to learn and gain knowledge with giddy excitement. 365 words, their origins, meanings, and factual information contained in one book written in an easy-to-understand style, and with the diary format you could choose to learn one new word a day. Although I’m not quite accurate in saying just one word a day or 365 words as each word often has others contained within the information that is related to the given word, so in fact, you are getting a lot more than you would expect.

I enjoyed learning about the words. Whether they will stay in my head and I remember to use them as and when the time arises is a different matter. The book is very British and there will be words that those around the world will never have heard of. There are also some that British people will never have heard of because they are regional words never heard outside of their city of origin or mean something different in different parts of the country.

Overall, this is a book for those who love etymology and want to broaden their range.