Forgotten English - Jeffrey Kacirk

Forgotten English is a rollicking guide to archaic words and their definitions, complemented by wonderful old-fashioned line drawings. Each word is enhanced with engaging literary excerpts showing its usage, drawn from sources such as Shakespeare, Dickens, Herman Melville, and William Blake. Readers learn that the bee-master informed the family bees of any important household events, and that a sillyebubbe made of wine and milk-was drunk to soothe a sour stomach. On eighteenth-and nineteenth-century ships, the scuttlebut was the barrel of water passengers gathered around for idle chatter, just like today’s office water cooler. The stories behind the words provide a fascinating social history of centuries past. For word lovers every-where, Forgotten English offers an enchanting and hilarious glimpse into lost culture, traditions, and beliefs.