‘This year’s must-have stocking filler – the angel on the top of the tree, the satsuma in the sock, the threepenny bit in the plum pudding, the essential addition to the library in the smallest room…’

Posted on 2011/12/03 , tagged as

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‘… is Mark Forsyth’s The Etymologicon,’ says Ian Samson in the Guardian today, rounding up those ideal books to buy this festive season.

‘The Etymologicon is witty and well researched, and the chapters are short. Who wouldn’t want to read about the derivation of the word “gormless”? Or the relationship between the words “buffalo” and “buff”? All things pass, but amusement abides.’

Read the whole thing here and you can order your essential stocking filler at the Guardian’s bookshop here.

Mark Forsyth will be on Radio 4’s Loose Ends this afternoon – the programme starts at 6.15.