I came across this book at the AIGA design conference’s 50 books/50 covers display. It’s been in my “to buy” list ever since. I finally bought it and it was well worth the $7.00 that I splurged. The book is basically a dictionary of unique/ridiculous words in the english vocabulary such as…Lollygag. What a great concept for a book. The content lends itself to quirky typography and illustrations, which make for an overall fun read. About as fun as a dictionary can get I suppose.

And now, some favorites for each letter.

A is for..amok: going crazy or out of control, like children who’ve had too much sugar. People usually run amok because walking amok would take too long.

B is for..ballyhoo: a commotion created to attract attention; over the top advertising, like the kind heard at circuses and carnivals.

C is for..cockamamie: it sounds naughty, but it’s not. It means ridiculous or pointless, as in, “Of all the cockamamie ideas you’ve spouted, this is by far the worst.”

D is for..dillydally: to waste time, dawdle, dither. See also lollygag. The dillydallying ducky!

E is for..egads!: not a swearword, but something better that “Gosh!” or “Darn-it!” to say when you are excited, shocked, or creeped out.

F is for..flapdoodle: nonsense; foolish talk.

G is for..gadzooks!: an old-timey expression of surprise, similar to “What the devil?!” see also fiddlesticks!

H is for..hootenanny: a folk-music concert, often with audience members participating.

I is for..inkling: a very slight hint or clue, as in “I have an inkling why you’re so angry. It’s not even my flamingo!” (wha??)

J is for..jalopy: a beat up old car.

K is for..kerfuffle: a big fuss. See also brouhaha.

L is for..logorrhea: excessive talking that is usually incoherent and often associated with mental illness; sometimes called verbal diarrhea.

M is for..malarkey: nonsense or foolish talk. see also flapdoodle.

N is for..nickelodeon: a movie theater of the early twentieth century. It cost a nickel to get in, which explains the name.

O is for..oodles: lots and lots, see also umpteen.

P is for..palsy-walsy: very friendly, usually in an annoying way, as in, “Well, you two have been very palsy-walsy lately.”

Q is for..quagmire: a mushy, marshy, swampy area, but also any kind of sticky situation or predicament.

R is for..rigmarole: an overly complex way of doing things.

S is for..snollygoster: a shrewd or crooked person; a swindler.

T is for..tintinnabulation: the jingling sound that bells make.

U is for..undulation: a steady up-and-down or to-and-fro motion; sometimes used as a fancy word for speedbumps.

V is for..vomitory: the passageway running between rows of seats that spectators use to enter or exit a stadium; it comes from the Latin verb vomere, meaning to eject or spew forth.

W is for..whirligig: something that spins around and around, like a top or merry go round.

X is for..X: X-ray, X-Men..not very tongue tickling.

Y is for..yawp: to squawk or complain, in the sense that the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Z is for..zigzag: cutting across from side to side. If you need to waste a few hours, you could measure the zigzaggedness of the zippers on all of your pants.

*THE ANSWER TO THE CONUNDRUM*

…The letter M!