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 we're at it what have spondulics to do with spines or lawyers with avocados? In It's 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 Jack's addictive anecdotes bring the world's most colourful language to life & are guaranteed to surprise & entertain."