Dictionary of the Strange, Epic, and Beautiful: The Big Book of Cool Words

Dictionary of the Strange, Epic, and Beautiful is a compilation of three previous dictionaries: Dictionary of the Strange, Curious, and Lovely; Epic English Words; and Dictionary of the Rare, Creative, and Beautiful

Part dictionary and part carefully curated encyclopedia, this book offers a window into the breadth and depth of human experience and imagination, showcasing words with unique histories and meaning, or beauty of sound or appearance; other words are esoteric and deep – or strange and fascinating. Some categories of words, names, and terms are: Placenames (Pillars of Hercules, Arabia Felix, Doon Edin, Mare Tenebrosum & Riphean Mountains); Zoology (quill pig, pink fairy armadillo & frantling); Astronomy (Eddington luminosity, Venusian, Silurian hypothesis, Jovian trojans & Kreutz sungrazers); Geopolitics (Perfidious Albion & Baltoscandia); History (Sahelian kingdoms, sunlit uplands &Groom of the Stool); Geometry (Penrose stairs & Villarceau circles); Anatomy (brain sand & frenulum); Archeology (OldenburgHorn& Nebra sky disc).

Plus nautical, poetic, and literary terms like: brave west winds & naufragous; person from Porlock & the cavalier poets; the Lost Generation &Erewhonian. Also select slang words, such as: tactical chunder, snoutfair, molly wop,ghostshipping &grundle. And interesting phrases like: bring owls to Athens;et in Arcadia ego; happy as a box of birds; dolce far niente; and up the wooden hills to Bedfordshire.