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John Lloyd

Douglas Adams

The Deeper Meaning of Liff: A Dictionary of Things There Aren't Any Words for Yet--But There Ought to Be Paperback – April 19, 2005

by Douglas Adams (Author), John Lloyd (Author)

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A rollicking, thought-provoking dictionary for the modern age, featuring definitions for those things we don't have words for, from the New York Times bestselling author behind The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams, and TV producer John Lloyd.

Does the sensation of Tingrith(1) make you yelp? Do you bend sympathetically when you see someone Ahenny(2)? Can you deal with a Naugatuck(3) without causing a Toronto(4)? Will you suffer from Kettering(5) this summer?

Probably. You are almost certainly familiar with all these experiences but just didn’t know that there are words for them. Well, in fact, there aren’t—or rather there weren’t, until Douglas Adams and John Lloyd decided to plug these egregious linguistic lacunae(6). They quickly realized that just as there are an awful lot of experiences that no one has a name for, so there are an awful lot of names for places you will never need to go to. What a waste. As responsible citizens of a small and crowded world, we must all learn the virtues of recycling(7) and put old, worn-out but still serviceable names to exciting, vibrant, new uses. This is the book that does that for you: The Deeper Meaning of Liff—a whole new solution to the problem of Great Wakering(8)

1—The feeling of aluminum foil against your fillings.

2—The way people stand when examining other people’s bookshelves.

3—A plastic packet containing shampoo, mustard, etc., which is impossible to open except by biting off
the corners.

4—Generic term for anything that comes out in a gush, despite all your efforts to let it out carefully, e.g., flour into a white sauce, ketchup onto fish, a dog into the yard, and another naughty meaning that we can’t put on the cover.

5—The marks left on your bottom and thighs after you’ve been sitting sunbathing in a wicker chair.

6—God knows what this means

7—For instance, some of this book was first published in Britain twenty-six years ago.

8—Look it up yourself.

Print length

192 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Crown
Publication date

April 19, 2005
Dimensions

5.5 x 0.6 x 8.3 inches
ISBN-10

0307236013
ISBN-13

978-0307236012
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Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Does the sensation of Tingrith(1) make you yelp? Do you bend sympathetically when you see someone Ahenny(2)? Can you deal with a Naugatuck(3) without causing a Toronto(4)? Will you suffer from Kettering(5) this summer?
Probably. You are almost certainly familiar with all these experiences but just didn't know that there are words for them. Well, in fact, there aren't--or rather there weren't, until Douglas Adams and John Lloyd decided to plug these egregious linguistic lacunae(6). They quickly realized that just as there are an awful lot of experiences that no one has a name for, so there are an awful lot of names for places you will never need to go to. What a waste. As responsible citizens of a small and crowded world, we must all learn the virtues of recycling(7) and put old, worn-out but still serviceable names to exciting, vibrant, new uses. This is the book that does that for you: "The Deeper Meaning of Liff--a whole new solution to the problem of Great Wakering(8)

1--The feeling of aluminum foil against your fillings.
2--The way people stand when examining other people's bookshelves.
3--A plastic packet containing shampoo, mustard, etc., which is impossible to open except by biting off
the corners.
4--Generic term for anything that comes out in a gush, despite all your efforts to let it out carefully, e.g., flour into a white sauce, ketchup onto fish, a dog into the yard, and another naughty meaning that we can't put on the cover.
5--The marks left on your bottom and thighs after you've been sitting sunbathing in a wicker chair.
6--God knows what this means
7--For instance, some of this book was first published in Britain twenty-six years ago.
8--Look it up yourself.

About the Author

Douglas Adams was the bestselling author of many works including The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, which was turned into a major motion picture. He died in 2001.

John Lloyd is (he says) Britain’s most successful television comedy producer since Chaucer and is responsible for Not the Nine O’Clock News, Spitting Image, and Blackadder, among others.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Crown; Reprint edition (April 19, 2005)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 192 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0307236013
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0307236012
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.3 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #430,677 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #143 in Language Humor
- #479 in Puns & Wordplay
- #708 in Dictionaries (Books)

Customer Reviews:
602 ratings

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John Lloyd
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John Lloyd is the founder of QI and the producer of some of Britain’s best-loved TV shows. He is of the same opinion as Plato: unmitigated seriousness has no place in human affairs. On the other hand, he also likes A. N. Whitehead’s assertion that it’s more important for something to be interesting than true (although it’s more likely to be interesting if it is true).
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Douglas Adams
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Douglas Adams (1952-2001) was the much-loved author of the Hitchhiker's Guides, all of which have sold more than 15 million copies worldwide.
Photo by michael hughes from berlin, germany (douglas adams Uploaded by Diaa_abdelmoneim) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.
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Customer reviews

5 star		73%
4 star		15%
3 star		6%
2 star		4%
1 star		2%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Top reviews from the United States

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D.A. Drake

A Waste of Talent

Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2019

Verified Purchase

I absolutely LOVE Douglas Adams, I love, LOVE, LOVE HHGTTG, Dirk, and his other works, and tons of other British books and comedies ...but this book is just dumb. And not funny. Even the few words I thought were clever, and said to myself I was going to start using them in my daily life, I totally forgot all about them as soon as I closed the book. To surely never pick up again. Buy it only if they pay you to take it.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Limey Di in NJ (sometimes)

Deep and enduring laughter

Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2013

Verified Purchase

A hugely funny and original idea, wittily expressed, that makes me cry with laughter. I particularly love the definitions that apply to the place of my birth, Sutton and Cheam. I don't think "genius" is too extreme for the quality of this work: the apex of British humour and Weltanschauung. Don't be scared by that earnest endorsement ... it is just that I sense that the concept and its realization appeal to a particular set of sensibilities, and my English friends and relations love it while some more solemn friends do not, alas, get it. I know that I will treasure this book and return to it often. It is very dippable-into - but on the other hand, I find once I look, I can't stop reading "just one more".

10 people found this helpful

Helpful

Dee Cope

Amusing book for people who love words

Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2018

Verified Purchase

Book arrived in good condition except for the first few pages which had come unstuck from the binding; however, the first dozen pages or so have started to come loose from the binding, which is a shame. This copy was published in 2013, and it hardly looks read at all. I don't know if the problem with the binding originates with the book itself, or if it has happened over time. Rwegarding the text of the book, it is very funny - not side splittingly funny, but smile provoking on nearly every page, especially if you are British and understand the lingo.I love listening to John Lloyd on the BBC radio 4 program "The Museum of Curiosity."

Helpful

Riki Kiki Taco

Super awesome book that I have loved for years

Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2017

Verified Purchase

Super awesome book that I have loved for years. Silly words with sillier meanings... I mean seriously necessary words that don't exist with seriously essential meanings. I got this one as a Christmas present and the person was super excited to receive it.

7 people found this helpful

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Peter K Hasty

By Douglas Adams. Do you even need to read the review?

Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2014

Verified Purchase

I've had many copies of this book on and off, and when I lost it in a move i had to have it again. An excellent bathroom or coffee table book, good for quite a few laughs, unless you're the kind of person who doesn't like to laugh. Then it may be an exercise in masochism.

10 people found this helpful

Helpful

bggdy9

Good condition as good as they stated or better

Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2022

Good

Great coffee table book

Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2013

Verified Purchase

I have to qualify the 5 star rating. This is not a book you read cover to cover. Rather it is best enjoyed in small doses. Also if you are unfamiliar with Douglas Adams I would suggest starting with the Hitchhiker's Guide. However if you are a die hard fan and just can't get enough silliness then this is a good one to get.

2 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Amusing read for lunchbreaks

Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2008

Verified Purchase

I really enjoyed reading this book. I kept finding things in it I could use in everyday sentences. Who hasn't experienced the sensation of woking?

I had heard of this product through one of Adams's other books - Salmon of Doubt, so I kind of had an idea of what it was about. Anyone who enjoys Pratchett or Monty Python will get a kick out of this book.

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Catherine Thorn

Certainly good - but somehow not quite as wonderful as the original

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 14, 2013

Verified Purchase

I was in on Liffs from the very beginning, having first encountered the concept in the form of the "Oxtail English Dictionary" in the "Not The 1982 Calendar". At first sight anyone new to Liffs might think that "The Deeper Meaning of Liff" would be the ideal book to buy, since it is essentially the original book with a lot of new Liffs added - but political correctness has been at work, and somehow for me it lacks the fearless edginess of the original. Still, the new ones are generally still of a high standard, so it is very much worth buying. However if you are new to Liffs, I would recommend getting hold of the original "Meaning of Liff".

9 people found this helpful

collin m lloyd

A new dictionary to cover those things a dictionary doesn't.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 17, 2018

Verified Purchase

I just wish that Douglas Adams had found a place/word to describe the experience of reading this book. I really enjoyed it, even though I have alienated all my friends, co-workers and family by trying to introduce the new nomenclature, which I find frustrating, challenging and deep down a little sad. I thought Northampton might cover this feeling but alas its already taken!

4 people found this helpful

CplSkidmark

Very silly. Very, very silly. And brilliant.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 10, 2020

Verified Purchase

I bought my first copy of this book when it had a sticker on the cover. The sticker said, "This book will change your life!"
When you got to the definition of Liff, you found that Liff meant any book the cover of which completely belies its contents.
I wish they hadn't changed the meaning of liff....

Bob

Everyone should have a copy of this book!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 9, 2016

Verified Purchase

We have many copies of this book in our family. This one was a birthday present for a literary friend who claimed he had never heard of it! Can you believe that? It is a real fun book that everyone should have. Our family uses some of the books definition words like "sturry" in our everyday conversations.

2 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

One of the best books ever written

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 9, 2013

Verified Purchase

I buy this book in small quantities at a time and give them to friends who will appreciate them. Douglas Adams was a pure genius and this is a truly wonderful book. Not just laugh-out-loud funny, but extremely useful. It has enriched my vocabulary, particularly with reference to behaviour in corridors.What a loss to the world his death was.

3 people found this helpful

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The Deeper Meaning of Liff: A Dictionary of Things There Aren't Any Words for Yet--But There Ought to Be Paperback – April 19, 2005

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