2000 Most Challenging Obscure Words

by Norman W. Schur

A collection of alphabetically organized English words and terms provides two thousand definitions that offer sample usage and etymology and that stand alone as informative, often hilarious miniature essays.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0883658488
• ISBN13: 9780883658482
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Galahad Books
• Length: 564 Pages
• Weight: 2.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.8" x 6.9" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

just stupendous!

I was walking through Barnes & Noble with my friend when we both spotted this book, it looked like so much fun. It truly is great fun to read. The book is split up into two sections, the first section is the 1000 most challenging words, the second part is 1000 most obscure words. Let me tell you, I can't even say a quarter of the words in this book but it is very interesting to read through it and find words like zarf(a special type of cupholder) and sic(which means thus or therefore). I used some of the words in this book each day(or at least try) and it has really broadened my vocabulary.This book is the perfect gift for a friend or if you just want to have some fun with impossibly obscure words!

The Greatest Gift

My wife gave this book to me last Christmas. It is the best gift she has ever given me--a sesquipedalian feast that, having become quite quotidian (to this reader), has yet to be rendered trivial, or desipiient. It offers a brobdingnagian view of a lexoconic world that even those of lilliputian linguistic skill can appreciate. Very simply, if you love language, if you love learning, you'll love this book.

Great compendium of obscure words of the logophile

If you know a logophile, then this makes an excellent gift. I enjoy Schur's writing and sense of humor as he describes each word, its history, and how it's used. Recommended!

An exciting dicitonary!

Mr. Schur has a gift for glibly describing the essence and etymology of obscure words. He's my favorite philologist!This book is a "twofer" containing the last of the four "1000 Words Series." Basically, each book is a mini-dictionary targeting the weirdest and odd words. He provides the word, and pronunciation, then a brief entry explaining the etymology and use of each word. His pen shines and his tongue is blarney. I am impressed that any human being could make a dictionary entry so lively! I wish my Webster's had this spunk and vigor.It is two books under one cover, but both follow the same format, so they flow together as if they were one text. He occasionally references the companion volume "1000 Most Important Words," and "1000 Most Practical Words." These four books are really one in concept, and each part is a fair sampling of the whole. Purchase all four books for maximum brainpower.This book is for the English major or grad student, copy editors, or the public speaker. This book also works for your snob-ling friends, your eccentric associates who are into Crispin Glover, or for someone that is hard to shop for. Cruxverbalists will certainly underline and dog-ear this book.The only drawback to this book is that it relies heavily on Greco-Latin words. This violates "Strunk and White's" Reminder #14: Avoid Fancy words. They assert: "Avoid the elaborate, the pretentious, the coy, and the cute. Do not be tempted by a twenty-dollar word when there is a ten-center handy, ready and able. Anglo-Saxon is a livelier tongue than Latin, so use Anglo-Saxon words." Therefore, this book is great for personal edification, and the soul who loves to connect root words with their branch meanings.

A Wonderful Book

It's actually two separate books, "Most Challenging Words" and "Most Obscure Words", so I'll review them separately."Most Challenging Words" is a good vocabulary book for people with already robust mental lexicons. It is not a mere dictionary and spends most of the pages discussing word's etymology and the history of their uses. Examples from this section include words like: hyperbaton, epicrisis, clowder, and adulate."Most Obscure Words" is not really suitable for increasing one's vocabulary, but it is an interesting discussion of words one's likely to never encounter more than once outside this book. Examples: epopt, nepenthe, humuhumunukunukuapuaa, karkia, and mytacism.