A compendium that includes three of the author's acclaimed books about language - "The Wonder of Whiffling", "The Meaning of Tingo" and "Toujours Tingo".

Presenting a tour of English from its mongrel origins to its status as the world's most-spoken tongue; its apparent simplicity to its deceptive complexity; its vibrant swearing to its uncertain spelling and pronunciation, this book covers curious eccentricities that make it as maddening to learn and as flexible to use.

A guide to the problems of English usage and spelling. It lets you discover whether you should care about split infinitives, or were wondering if that newsreader was right to say 'an historic day'.