The Language-Lover's Lexipedia: An A-Z of Linguistic Curiosities
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From the inventor of the League of the Lexicon Board game – The perfect gift for all who love words and language.
'Want to uncover the secret of Ikea product names? Learn the art of Scottish insults? Or understand why pedants are pedantic? Here you will find all this and more.'
Part encyclopaedia, part miscellany, The Language-Lover’s Lexipedia is a delightful tour of the world of words, from the origin of Abracadabra to Zyzzyva and the end of the dictionary. Meticulously researched, witfully written and beautifully designed with hand-drawn illustrations by Caroline Church, each page is a lucky dip into the English language.
The Language-Lover’s Lexipedia is catnip for curious minds. Inside, you’ll find Scottish Insults (you’re talking mince), Elizabethan Colours (like Ape’s Laugh and Lustie Gallant), the dangerous history of the Index of Banned Books, unusual mealtimes, Technobabble and over a hundred words for Scottish rain. There’s even a Dictionary of Small Things. Each entry points to other entries, so after exploring one rabbit hole there’s always another to get lost in. See where they lead you.
This deliciously original book takes readers around the sidelines and leylines of language. You will be sure to come away armed with an arsenal of linguistic knowledge to impress and entertain in all sorts of useful – and not so useful – situations.
International availability - Europe and the United States.
We have resumed some European and US shipping in line with new EU GPSR regulations and recent changes to US tariffs. British Library Publications, including our subscriptions, are now available for order for customers across Europe and the United States.
We will continue rolling out our most popular products to these regions in stages. If you are browsing from Europe or the US, you can now see the products that are available for you to order.
We’re working hard to expand the offering, so the selection you see online will continue to grow as products are cleared for shipping.
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Our deliveries are now carbon neutral.
| Timescale | ||
| UK Standard* | £5.00 | 3 - 5 working days |
Please allow 7 working days from the time you place your order to contact us about undelivered orders.
*does not include custom prints or custom clothing.
Local pick up
Local pick up is free and allows you to buy online and collect your items from our shop in St. Pancras (London) or from Reception in Boston Spa.
London
Orders placed before 3pm will be ready to collect from noon the following day (including weekends). Please ensure you check our opening times before coming to collect.
Boston Spa
Orders placed before 3pm will be ready to collect between 2 - 4 working days, though this is usually quicker.
EU and Europe orders
Due to the new EU Regulation 2023/988 (GPSR), not all of our products will be available for you to order yet, we are working on rolling out a wider product range.
| Order value | Under £25 | £25 - £50 | £50 - £100* | Over £100* | Timescale |
| Airmail | £ 15 | £ 25 | £ 36 | £ 45 | Usually 2 - 4 weeks |
Rest of the World orders
| Order value | Under £25 | £25 - £50 | £50 - £100* | Over £100* | Timescale |
| Airmail | £ 20 | £ 30 | £ 40 | £ 50 | Usually 2 - 4 weeks |
International orders are shipped on a Delivered at Place (DAP) basis. Import duties and taxes are payable by the customer upon delivery. Orders returned due to non-payment of duties will be refunded for the product cost only, less any shipping fees incurred.
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