Would you be bewildered if someone described you as "radgy"? Do you know how to recognize a "tittamatorter"? And would you understand if someone called you a "culchie"? "How to Talk Like a Local" gathers together hundreds of words from all over the country and digs down to uncover their origins. From "dardledumdue," which means daydreamer in East Anglia, through "forkin robbins," the Yorkshire term for earwigs, to "clemt," a Lancashire word that means hungry, it investigates an astonishingly rich variety of regional expressions, and provides a fascinating insight into the history of the...

Why do good things cut the mustard? Who or what was the real Real McCoy? And why do we call false sentiment crocodile tears? Can crocodiles really cry?
In What Made the Crocodile Cry?, Susie Dent draws on her popular television segment on the curiosities of English to tackle these and many other fascinating puzzles. Writing with her customary charm and erudition, Dent offers a wonderfully readable and endlessly entertaining exploration of language, answering 101 of the most intriguing questions about the English language, from word origins and spelling to grammar and usage. Dent ranges...