We have updated our Privacy Policy Please take a moment to review it. By continuing to use this site, you agree to the terms of our updated Privacy Policy.
Pascal Wyse’s Wyse Words have been a regular feature of the Guardian Weekend magazine since 2006.
Wyse Words is a collection of words that should exist, but don’t, helping us define an increasingly bewildering world. Wonderfully funny, yet touchingly human, this is a book that encapsulates a spirit of the times.
Suckwit:What you become if you attempt not to sound out of breath during a conversation with someone you fancy, having bumped into them at the gym. Combined with the inevitable holding-in of the stomach, the overall effect is so unpleasant, you would be more cool if you just stood there and wet yourself.Novada: Brief, exciting state of mind during which it seems as if you understand the workings of the US presidential election. You rush to find a water cooler at which to practise sounding casual about New Hampshire, Super Tuesday and article 2 of the US constitution, but suddenly it’s gone. What is ‘federal’ again?Chronanism: Watching a movie you already have the DVD of, just because it is on the telly; Googling ex-lovers; contemplating a cheese diary; starting a charity bag; experimenting with screensavers … The special collection of vague activities that gets you from 11pm (when you were totally ready for bed) to 1.30am.
Wyse Words is a collection of words that should exist, but don’t, helping us define an increasingly bewildering world. Wonderfully funny, yet touchingly human, this is a book that encapsulates a spirit of the times.
Suckwit:What you become if you attempt not to sound out of breath during a conversation with someone you fancy, having bumped into them at the gym. Combined with the inevitable holding-in of the stomach, the overall effect is so unpleasant, you would be more cool if you just stood there and wet yourself.Novada: Brief, exciting state of mind during which it seems as if you understand the workings of the US presidential election. You rush to find a water cooler at which to practise sounding casual about New Hampshire, Super Tuesday and article 2 of the US constitution, but suddenly it’s gone. What is ‘federal’ again?Chronanism: Watching a movie you already have the DVD of, just because it is on the telly; Googling ex-lovers; contemplating a cheese diary; starting a charity bag; experimenting with screensavers … The special collection of vague activities that gets you from 11pm (when you were totally ready for bed) to 1.30am.
Newsletter Signup
By clicking ‘Sign Up,’ I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Hachette Book Group’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
Reviews
"... irreverent neological talent, (...) Wyse's gift lies in his ability to recognize hitherto unnamed objects and experiences for which there ought to be pitchy expressions. We can think him for screbe ("the sound of an orchestra tuning up"), for librido (the sublimated sexual tension in a library) and for the surreality of woobris ("overconfident trees")."