Crystal’s Curiosity Cabinet: An English Language Miscellany

David Crystal

Oct 2025 · Sold by Chambers

Ebook

240

Pages

Eligible

About this ebook

Quirky, original, amusing and enlightening, this charming English Language Miscellany from David Crystal, one of the greatest British linguists of our time, offers fascinating observations on random, weird and witty words and expressions, collected over a number of years.

What do a comic alphabet, a glorious lipogram and a wellerism have in common?

Or, an audit of accountants, an illusion of magicians, and an intrusion of spammers?

And do you know how Shakespeare pronounced his name?

Following the tradition of the Victorian miscellany and cabinets of curiosities, the 150+ random entries reveal the global, national, contemporary and historical impact of language, and will appeal to word lovers and fun-fact-fiends alike.

Showcasing linguistic creativity in all its glory, and featuring a wide range of topics that reflect current language issues, such as accents, dialects, etymology, proverbs, place names, punctuation, everyday usage, and language change, this book provides a playful, entertaining and informative read on the bizarre nature of language.

***
'From Dylan Thomas's favorite nouns to the etymological connection between 'lettuce' and 'galaxy', to open David Crystal's Curiosity Cabinet is to be captivated by the wonder of words.'

-James Geary, author of The World in A Phrase: A Brief History of the Aphorism

About the author

David Crystal, OBE, is known throughout the world as a writer, editor, lecturer, and broadcaster on language and linguistics. He has written or edited over 100 books and published numerous articles for scholarly, professional, and general readerships on the history and development of English, including The Stories of English, How Language Works, and Evolving English. He has also published many works on Shakespeare, most recently co-authoring Everyday Shakespeare: Lines for Life (Chambers, 2023). An honorary professor of linguistics at the University of Bangor, David works from his home in Holyhead, North Wales. His autobiographical memoir, Just a Phrase I'm Going Through, appeared in 2009, and he lives online at www.davidcrystal.com.

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