Folding instructions1.Cutwheredirected. 2.Flipsquareover. 3.Foldonecorneracrosstoitsopposite

corner.Creaseandopenthesquare flat.Dothesamewiththeotherpairof corners,thenturnover.

5.Foldallcornersinto thecentrepoint.

4.Foldallcornerstothecentre point,thenturnover.

6.Turnovertothe sidewithnumbers.

7. Foldthesquarein half,withthenumbers facingoutward.

8.Useyourfingerstoshape intofourpoints.Younowhave aParticularfortuneteller!

Long-timeword-detectiveandbestsellingauthorofP.O.S.H.,MichaelQuinionbringsustheanswerstonearlytwohundredofthemostintriguingquestionshe’sbeenaskedaboutlanguageovertheyearsonhishugelypopular,award-winningwebsite,worldwidewords.org.

Didyouknowthat‘Blighty’comesfromanancientArabicword?OrthatLiberace‘criedhiswaytothebank’somanytimespeoplethinkhecameupwiththephrase?

Michaelisn’tonlybigontheinternet:P.O.S.H. soldmorethan80,000copiesinhardback,hisweeklynewslettergoesto50,000people,andhe’scontributedover160,000citationstotheOED.

Thebestsellingauthorturnshisattentiontohismothertongue,Initsworldwidemanifestations.Andwhynot?The Meaning of Tingo,aboutallthoseoddforeignwords,soldover50,000copiesinhardbackandgotitsownslotonJonathanRoss.

Whetheryouknowsomeonewhohasbutler’sperks(openedbutunfinishedbottlesofwine),abadonkadonk(buttocksofexceptionalquality&bounce),oreatsaachibombo(codfishfritters),thislight-heartedguidetothestrangestwordsintheEnglishlanguageisprobablyforthem.

‘Abooknowell-stockedbookshelf,cistern-toporhandbagshouldbewithout’STEPHENFRY

Inthe1960sGeoffreyGrigson,abeautifulwriterandapoetfullofcuriousknowledge,wrotethestoryofthelandscapethatexistsallaroundusifwetakethetimetolookandsee.

RightnowtheoriginalShellGuidesarecollectors’items.Welovethebooksomuchwewanttobringittoawideraudience.

RepublishedwiththirtybeautifulnewillustrationsandaforewordbySophieGrigson.

Wouldn’tthisA-ZofcountrysidedelightsmakeagreatgiftforNationalTrustmembersorfansofJohnBetjeman?

LastyearAlbertJacktoldusthesecretmeaningsofnurseryrhymesandbecameaSunday TimesTopTenbestsellerwithPop Goes the Weasel.Andhe’sbackthisyearwiththeamazingstoriesbehindpubnames.

Aftermuchresearchabout(andin)pubs,AlbertJackbringstogetherthestoriesbehindpubnamestorevealhowtheyofferfascinatingandsubversiveinsightsonourhistory,customs,attitudesandjokes.

ThisisabookforeveryonewhohaseverwonderedwhypubsshouldbecalledThe Cross Keys,The Dew Drop InnorThe Hope and Anchor.You’llbegladtoknowthatthereareverygoodreasons–strangeandmemorable–behindthemall.

ScottSchumanjustwantedtotakephotographsofpeopleonthestreetwholookedgreat.FromthestreetsofStockholmtoSydney,hisfamousblog(thesartorialist.com)inspirespeopleofallages,insideandoutofthefashionindustry(includingdesignerslikeMarcJacobs).

WhenScottannouncedthathisfirstbookwouldbepublishedbyPenguin,commentspouredinfromeagerfansallovertheworld.(Nottomentiontherequestsforinterviews,serial,bookevents...)

DesignedandcreatedwithScott,thebookisabeautifulanthologyofhisfavouriteshots,printedinfullcolouronhand-picked,qualitypaper.

thesartorialist.comhasmadeScottafashionicon(heevenappearedina‘GapIcon’ad).Andhe’llbetravellingacrosstheworldforhisbook,promotingitwhereverhegoes.

SincemovingtoFrance,Charleshasquietlydevisedtheperfectguidesforallforeignerswhodecidetojoinhim,whetherfortwoweeksortwoyears.

Pardon My French,Charles’sguidetotheFrenchlanguage,hascomfortablysold18,000copies.Butvocabularyaloneisn’tenough.Tosurviveinthemostsophisticated,mostscathingnationonEarth,youwillneedtounderstandthepeculiaritiesofthe(verypeculiar)Frenchculture.

Teachingyoueverythingfromhowtodealwithlouchewaiterstohowtotalktochildrenandanimals,thisbookisquitepossiblytheonlywaytostoptheFrenchcondescendingtoyou.

WhichanimalwouldyoufindinaDazzle,aCrash,aFlamboyance,aBoogleoraBloat?WhyonearthisagroupofcrowsknownasaMurder?Andwereyouawarethatjellyfishdon’thavebrains,agoat’spupilsarerectangular,orthatherringscommunicateviabubblesfromtheirbottoms?

WelcometoAlonShulman’smiscellanyofanimalmadness,withmorewaysofdescribingcollectionsofcreaturesthanyou’llfindanywhereelse–plusthemostoutlandish,strangeyetcompletelyaccurateanimalfactsyoucanimagine.

Perfectforpubquizzers,languagebuffs,wannabeknow-it-allsandanyreadersaged,well...8to80.

the Joys of WhifflingAndothersadlyneglectedandsurprisinglyusefulwordsfromtheEnglishlanguage

Adam Jacot de Boinod978014051585524SeptemberHBB-format12.99

Why is Q Always Followed by u?Word-perfectanswerstothemost-askedquestionsaboutlanguage

Michael Quinion978184614184302JulyHBB-format12.99

A Mess of iguanas, A Whoop of gorillas...Or:howtogreetacrowdofanimals

Alon shulman

978184614255001OctoberHB12.99

A certain Je Ne Sais Quoi

TheIdealGuidetoSounding,ActingandShruggingLiketheFrench

charles timoney

978014104167406AugustPBB-format8.99

the sartorialistscott schuman

978184614250503SeptemberPBSewn16.99

Ye olde dog and duckTheSecretMeaningsofPubNames

Albert Jack

978184614253603SeptemberHB12.99

the shell country AlphabetThelostclassicofthelandscape

geoffrey grigsonForewordbySophieGrigson

978184614212302July2009HBDemy20.00

Will help you discover a hidden world just off the motorway.From green men, ice-scratches and cross-legged knights to rainbows, clouds and weathercocks, via place-names and poets.

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How can one convey a short, friendly ‘I don’t mind’, a

dismissive expelling of breath and complete

disinterest all with one word? Bof!

Particular books are fun to knowO

r: a photographer with

an eye for style.Should you w

ish to greet a group of vultures you should refer to them

as a comm

ittee. And be prepared w

ith a cloth if you surprise a black vulture - they have a habit of regurgitating w

hen confronted.

In 2009, Penguin is launching a new non-fiction imprint called Particular Books. The colophon for Particular is a delightful little origami rabbit, and the books are going to be full of all sorts of interesting things you maybe didn’t know before (like a colophon being the name for a publisher’s emblem). Whether it’s the stranger regions of the English language, the history of British pub names, the distinctive styles of people on the street, or discovering that polar bears are invisible to infrared, Particular authors are people with passions. It’s their enthusiasm and love of their subjects that sets Particular Books apart, and they’re published and designed with all the care with which they were written. The first Particular Books come out this year. For anyone curious about the curious, or looking

to be entertained with distinctive insights on all kinds of topics, follow the rabbit.

So named because of a sport that used to feature there. A duck

was put into water, and a dog set to hunt it.

Apparently this was a highly entertaining

pastime.