Illustrated Compendium of Weirdly Specific Words

The Illustrated Compendium of Weirdly Specific Words is an illustrated dictionary of the 300+ most specific words in the English language, along with their definitions, roots, and (hilarious) usage quotes!

Have you ever been lying in your bed, surrounded by crumbs and wrappers, feasting on your fifth pop tart and thought, “I wish there was a word for this”? Well, there is! Accubationis - the practice of eating and drinking while lying down. The English language is populated by many words that have a regular place in everyday conversation, and The Illustrated Compendium of Weirdly Specific Words celebrates these words by featuring definitions, origins and usage, and coupling illustrations. Words include:

• Badling (noun) - a group of ducks.
• Crapulence (noun) - sickness resulting from eating too much.
• Guddle (verb) - fishing only with your hands.
• Kaiju (noun) - A film genre characterized by giant, terrifying monsters.
• Slugabed (noun) - A lazy person who stays in bed late.
• Wegotism (noun) - The excessive use of the word ‘we’.

With more than 300 insanely specific words, you’d think that you would know a few of them, right? Well, think again! We’re willing to wager that you don’t know a single one of these words! Unless, of course, you have a special interest in the smell of horse urine (the word for that particular odor is jumentuous). The Illustrated Compendium of Weirdly Specific Words not only captures these words through equally specific illustrations, it also tells you what they mean! And like so many great reference books before it, it is organized in alphabetical order, from aglet to zopissa.

Readers will close this book a little bit smarter than they were when they picked it up!

About the Author

Tyler Vendetti is a writer and wannabe dog mom whose work focuses on pop culture, humor, and the trials and tribulations of twentysomething-hood. Author of The Illustrated Compendium of Ugly English Words, she boasts bylines in xoJane, TIME Online, Cosmopolitanmagazine, HelloGiggles, The Penny Hoarder, and Thought Catalog, among others. Formerly of NBCUniversal and Warner Bros., she currently works as an entertainment assistant in Los Angeles. A comedy enthusiast with a flair for horror, Tyler can be found on Twitter @HeyThereFuture or at her home in Los Angeles, where she's been hiding behind the couch the whole time.

About the Illustrator

Rebecca Pry is an Illustrator and Designer living in Warwick, New York. She received a BFA in Illustration from Rhode Island School of Design in 2013. Rebecca's art adds a humorous twist to everyday items and scenes, and she has created patterns and graphics for home goods, books, accessories, apparel, and regularly shows her work in local galleries in the Hudson Valley. When she is not drawing, she is outside in a brightly colored sweater. See more at Rebeccapry.com.