The Foolish Dictionary


Lu par LibriVox Volunteers

(4.5 stars; 2 reviews)

"The Foolish Dictionary" was written by "Gideon Wurdz" (the pen name for Charles Wayland Towne) and was published in 1904. According to the beginning of the book, it is "An exhausting work of reference to un-certain English words, their origin, meaning, legitimate and illegitimate use..."

This a a short but amusing dictionary which "redefines" words in some interesting ways. Funny and sometimes bizarre observations are sprinkled throughout. In keeping with LibriVox policy to read, rather than attempt to rewrite, books - even those with offensive content - nothing has been omitted. While many of the definitions may just seem confusing or "corny" to modern readers, there are a couple that also might be considered "objectionable," particularly in section 10, which contains offensive content of a racial nature.

Summary by Maddie (1 hr 45 min)

Chapitres

Preface and Letter A 6:52 Lu par Maddie
Letter B 6:30 Lu par Alex Buie
Letter C 5:02 Lu par Alex Patterson
Letter D 4:28 Lu par Alex Patterson
Letter E 3:48 Lu par donnie
Letter F and G 7:37 Lu par donnie
Letter H 6:40 Lu par Nikolle Doolin
Letter I and J 6:48 Lu par Christiane Levesque
Letter K and L 8:06 Lu par Catharine Eastman
Letter M and N 6:58 Lu par J.C.
Letter O and P 8:19 Lu par J.C.
Letter Q and R 5:35 Lu par featherheadfop
Letter S 4:32 Lu par featherheadfop
Letter T 3:12 Lu par J.C.
Letter U - Z 6:10 Lu par J.C.
Postage and Postal Information 3:00 Lu par Kristin Hughes (1974-2021)
A Few Mythological and Classical Names 6:06 Lu par Denny Sayers (d. 2015)
Legal and Local Holidays in the United States 5:44 Lu par Denny Sayers (d. 2015)

Critiques


(4 stars)

Luckily, there are enough clever laughs, in this book, to allow one to ignore the sexist and racist bits.