Far Out (Forgotten) English Words & Meanings ... One a Day!
Written: Nov 02 '05 (Updated Nov 03 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: learn new words and history facts, nice illustrations, calendar is in a plastic tray
Cons: small print used for the definitions; no pronunciation guide
The Bottom Line: The Bottom Line is filled with whitty-whaws (silly pretenses), and though it won’t admit it, The Bottom Line is a paper-stainer (an author in contempt).
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| dlstewart's Full Review: Jeffery Kacirk - Forgotten English 2009 Calendar |
A thoughtful writing friend gave me this 365-day calendar as a gift. Jeffrey Kacirk’s Forgotten English Calendar has proven an education. I read a lot, and I don’t consider myself lacking for words ... yet this calendar has offered words and tidbits of information I never dreamed existed.
Description
This calendar came in a cardboard box. The calendar itself looks like a brick of notepaper sitting in a black plastic holder. The overall dimensions are 6" wide x 5" deep x 1 1/2" high. The calendar itself measures 5 1/4" wide x 4 1/4" deep x 1 1/4" high. The plastic tray has shallow sides along the back and sides. Two taller scallop-shaped pieces of plastic at the front of the tray keep the calendar in place while allowing a central finger-hold to flip the calendar pages. The calendar is anchored to the plastic base with glue.
The top sheet of the calendar is primarily blue and features an illustration reminiscent of a woodblock print ... a scholar reading a book by candlelight. Beneath the top sheet is a page filled with copyright information, credits as well as a key to the phases of the moon. The third calendar page offers a biography of Jeffrey Kacirk. Then the calendar pages begin. At the back of the calendar are two pages, each filled with a calendar year (this year and next year). There are also five lined pages after this titled “Notes”.
Each calendar page features a “forgotten” word in bold lettering at the left top of the page. Beneath the word, filling the rest of the vertical space, is a definition of the word revealed through quotes by well-known people from sources such as Joseph Wright’s “English Dialect Dictionary”, A. Benoni Evans’s “Leicestershire Words, Phrases, and Proverbs”, Rev. John Boag’s “Imperil Lexicon”, John Mactaggart’s “Scottish Gallovidian Encyclopedia”, and Noah Webster’s “American Dictionary of the English Language” (to name few sources).
The right side of the calendar page is topped with various small black & white or grayscale old-time images, which are repeated throughout the calendar. There are four lines, each measuring 1 5/8" long, beneath the artwork. The day of the week is written beneath the last line, and under this the date, and beneath that the month. The weekend pages combine both Saturday and Sunday, and these pages have no illustrations. Instead each day is given three lines for writing. The backside of the calendar pages are white.
Some of the extras sprinkled throughout the calendar include: moon phases, days of solstice, holidays. There is also a reminder page before December 1 so that you don’t forget to buy next year’s calendar.
What About Those Unusual Words?
Ah ... the words. They are the meat and potatoes of this calendar. It’s fascinating to read these unusual words and phrases and to learn how they were used. What surprised me is that I actually knew some of them and could use them in a sentence!
Here are some examples from the calendar (these are partial listings from the calendar pages):
ginnel
"To catch a fish with the hands; to 'tickle' trout; hence ginling, the act of catching fish with the hands."
– Michael Traynor’s “The English Dialect of Donegal”, 1953
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spending-cheese
“Cheese of a midling quality used for family consumption in the dairy districts of Suffolk, considerably superior to the Bang or Thump . . . but by no means equal to Gloucester. [From spend, to consume.]
– Rev. Robert Forby’s “Vocabulary of East Anglia”, 1830
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whillywha
“A wheedling or insinuating person; a flattering deceiver. Wheedling speech, flattery, cajolery. To take in or persuade by flattery.”
– Sir James Murray’s “New English Dictionary”, 1928
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Here is one entry in its entirety:
flouse
“To dabble, splash, play in the water; said of children, ducks, &c. splashing in the water.”
– William Cope’s “Glossary of Hampshire Words and Phrases”, 1883
“Easter Water Sports”
“One of the oldest Easter sports was that described by William Fitzstephen, who lived in the twelfth century. In this sport, a youth in a boat, without oars but propelled by the force of the current, tilted with his lance at a shield mounted on a strong pole fixed in the bed of the Thames or other river. If he succeeded in breaking his lance against the shield without falling, he was considered to have been successful, but if his lance glanced off the shield, he usually fell into the river, to be rescued by those stationed for the purpose. Large crowds of spectators on old London Bridge, at the wharves and [in] houses by the river watched the sport, and the amusement and excitement can be more easily imagined than described.”
– A. R. Wright’s “British Calendar Customs: Moveable Festivals”, 1936
My Thoughts
This calendar is an excellent gift for the word-lover or writer in your life. It not only presents unique, typically forgotten words, but it also offers glimpses into forgotten history and often includes brief biographies of well-known writers and those in the arts (Eric Honeywood Partridge–lexicographer, James Beattie–poet, Sarah Bernhardt–actress), interesting days (American Dictionary Day, Night of the Fecundation of the Trees, Paul’s Pitcher Day), history tidbits (Cookbook Copyright, Dueling Balloonists, Victorian Shopping Etiquette). This calendar is packed with information ... though it’s a shame it is not indexed for easy retrieval of specific facts.
If one needs a calendar for keeping track of the daily minutia in their lives such as dental appointments, anniversaries, dates, meetings ... then this is not the calendar for you. There is far too little writing room on each page.
Perhaps you plan to give this calendar to someone with poor eyesight. As an added gift, you might want to also give them a page magnifier. While the word-of-the-day is in large bold lettering, the definitions are in much smaller print.
The writing friend who gifted me with this calendar offered me a challenge. Read the word-of-the-day and use it in a sentence during one of our emailing sessions. We did this for a few weeks, then as with all good intentions, life interfered and we lost track of the game. Still, it was an excellent way to jog my creative muse.
One downfall to this calendar is that it does not offer a pronunciation guide. I’m surprised at this oversight. Since these words are considered archaic, it seems to me that a pronunciation guide would be a logical inclusion. How else are we supposed to know how to say sansculottide (one of the five–in leap-years, six–complementary days added at the end of the month). This calendar also does not mention grammar usage, such as whether the word is a noun or verb.
Who is Jeffrey Kacirk?
According to the mini-bio at the beginning of the calendar, Jeffrey Kacirk is a practicing chiropractor in San Francisco. But don’t let that occupation fool you. Kacirk is also a contributor to the “Oxford English Dictionary” as well as consults with those requiring his expertise with archaic expressions.
Purchasing
I know my friend purchased this calendar at one of the local bookstores that we frequent, but I don’t know how much she paid for it. Amazon.com sells it for $8.99. Barnes & Noble offers it for $11.99.
Summary
Okay ... enough whittee-whatteeing (speaking low and privately). I recommend Jeffrey Kacirk’s Forgotten English Calendar to word lovers, those who embrace knowledge, anyone interested in history. This calendar is a delight to the mind. And I admit that each day I feel a bit smarter after perusing my word-of-the-day. If everyone reads this calendar and starts using the words, Kacirk won’t be able to call it the Forgotten English calendar anymore.
I hope you have found this review useful.
Enjoy your day,
Dawn
http://dlstewart.com
Please read my other reviews:
The Writer’s Little Instruction Book
PennyPress Approved Variety Puzzles
PennyPress Tournament Variety Puzzles
PennyPress Master’s Variety Puzzles
EraserMate Pen with erasable ink
Sanford Major Accent Highlighter
Avery Pen-Style Highlighters
Bic e.3 – Pencil, Pen, Stylus all in one
Stanley Contemporary Electric Pencil Sharpener
Mighty Bright Light
Ott True Color Bedside / Desk Lamp
Ott True Color Floor Lamp
Ott True Color Flex-Arm Plus Lamp
Copyright 2005 Dawn L. Stewart
Recommended:
Yes
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