The definitions in the book were funny. Definitely there should be words for some of these things. Using place names for them made for some amusement relating them to places I have been. Overall though, just the humor of Douglas Adams saved this from being boring or annoying (as in my wife's opinion when I showed her some definitions).

Ambrose Bierce with British humor and less cynicism. Full text available on the Internet if you search a bit.

A dictionary for things that don't have classifications or words. This is the book I read when I get home from work and need to just lie down and read the most ridiculous but hilarious shit. Love Douglas Adams.

Grobister: One who continually and publicly rearranges the position of his genitals.

Ossining: Trying to see past the person sitting in front of you at the cinema.

Darvel: To hold out hope for a better invitation until the last possible moment.

I loved Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, so of course I wanted to read this one as well, which he co-authored with John Lloyd. It was (as expected) very funny and surprisingly relatable (well some experiences/definitions were, others not so much). Some of my favorite include:

n  “Beppu (n.):
The triumphant slamming shut of a book after reading the final page.”

“Dinder (vb.):
To nod thoughtfully while someone gives you a long and complex set of directions which you know you're never going to remember.”

“Gonnabarn (n.):
An afternoon wasted on watching an old movie on TV.”

“Woking (ptcpl. vb.):
Standing in the kitchen wondering what you came in here for.”n

Many of the definitions were distinctly British, of which I lack sufficient cultural knowledge to fully appreciate.

A birthday present from my sister, The Meaning of Liff is a dictionary of words you didn't know about. Each word is actually a place name (mostly in the UK) and a humorous explanation is provided for each.

Some of them I had already known for some time – my favourite is still Wimbledon – which as we all know describes "That last drop which, no matter how much you shake it, always goes down your trouser leg."

Kinda pointless. Reads like a phonebook.

This is one of my top three in the books written by Douglas Adams. This author not only thinks tangentially, he writes tangentially. Where did that come from? And then later there may or may not be a tie in. Humorous escapism at its best. Most of the characters are English, but one cannot count on Adams to stick to a country, let alone a topic. Fun read! I'm not sure of the date of publication, but I read it that year.

An excellent, although rather hard to find little book.

A handy reference for a large number of things that nobody has bothered making up words for yet, some of them obscure but others so common and every-day that it's shocking that they don't already exist.

Really just a list of place names, with a funny or strange interpretation of what the place name would mean if it was a word!

A very clever book unlike any other I've ever seen. Filled with sharp observations and one of the only few books that can, again and again, make me literally laugh out loud. Too bad I once lend someone my copy and never got it back...

really a reference I suppose, but a can't-put-it-down reference