By Jan Jackson
One look at the title, and I was interested. Lucky enough to get a review copy, I dived right in.
There are books and there are books. This is a book you will not only read for the essays that open each chapter and the very funny and the easy-to-read definitions (there are 23 names alone listed for the word drunk), but it’s worth finding room in your suitcase so you can take it on your next trip to Great Britain.
Blimey, I’m Knackered!: An American’s Survival Guide to British English by Marshall Hall, Mark Cowie (Illustrations). 300 pages – expected publication date August 31, 2021, by Imbrifex Books
According to Marshall Hall, author, American scholar and professor at the American College in London, the idea of the book started at a party one evening as a humorous list of the idiosyncrasies of British English compared to American English. He also confesses that there were many wine-soaked discussions that also went into the book.
However, what transcended the party and the wine-soaked discussions, is his format. He gives his own commentary at the beginning of each chapter, sprinkles quotes throughout the book from both the famous and the unknown and has an Index in the back of the book that lets you go directly to the definition you want the moment you want it.
I have one regret and that is I wish Mr. Hall had written this book years ago. I am a retired tour operator who has escorted tours all over Great Britain. I would have brought it with me on tour so I could have shared its contents as we traveled the backroads of England, Scotland, North Ireland, and Wales. I recommend that you do the same.
This book can be pre-ordered on Amazon.
