Did you know that an assassin is a hashish-eater & a yokel a country woodpecker? That Dr Mesmer mesmerised patients back to health or that Samuel Pepys enjoyed a good game of handicap? While were at it, what have spondulics to do with spines or lawyers with avocados? Its a Wonderful Word, bestselling author Albert Jack collects over 500 of the strangest, funniest-sounding & most delightful words in the English language, & traces them back to their often puzzling origins. While brushing up on your gibberish or gobbledygook, discover why bastards should resent travelling salesmen, why sheets should remain on tenterhooks & why you should never set down a tumbler before finishing your drink. From blotto to bamboozle & from claptrap to quango, Albert Jacks addictive anecdotes bring the worlds most colourful language to life & are guaranteed to surprise & entertain.