Looks at words which have vanished from English and offers insights into the lives and beliefs of the past from an unexpected angle. This book examines how the words we no longer use reflect how life has changed in that area, from food we no longer eat to clothes we no longer wear.

What is a gallimaufry anyway? And when did you last hear someone refer to the wireless? What was the original paraphernalia? Would you wear a billycock? Language is always changing, and here Michael Quinion, author of the bestselling POSH and other language myths , has gathered together some fascinating examples of words and meanings which have vanished from our language. Sometimes a word is lost when the thing it describes becomes obsolete, sometimes it survives in a figurative sense while the original meaning is lost, and sometimes it simply gives way to a more popular alternative. The story of these and many other words opens a window into the lives of past speakers of the English language.