Paul Sloane

Des Machale

A collection of our favourite fascinating words. It includes cunning curiosities, remarkable rarities, wonderful words and tremendous trivia. All the words are in use or have been in use in the English language. Most of the entries are serious and educational but occasionally we have sprinkled in something unexpected and facetious. Some sample entries: ARNOLD is a boy's name which has two anagrams which are also boys' names - ROLAND and RONALD. DESSERTS is the longest word which forms another word when spelled backwards, STRESSED. IGNORAMUS - nowadays, a stupid person, but originally a jury verdict meaning 'we do not know' from the Latin ignoramus. OPOSSUM the only North American marsupial gets its name from the native American Powhatan language where it means white dog. Skunk, coyote, raccoon, moose, woodchuck, and caribou are other animals whose names come from native American tongues. QUEEN would be the first word in the dictionary if our alphabet was ordered to match the QWERTY keyboard layout.

A Collection of Curious, Fascinating Or Funny Words and Their Stories.

1234 Wacky, Witty and Wonderful Words

Michael A. DiSpezio

Fraser Simpson

Trip Payne

J. Baxter Newgate

Exercise your mind to keep it in top shape by solving these tantalizingly tough, delightfully challenging, puzzles.

Puzzles for a Super-Mind Workout

John Ford's The Quiet Man (1952) is the most popular cinematic representation of Ireland, and one of Hollywood's classic romantic comedies. For some viewers and critics the film is a powerful evocation of romantic Ireland and the search for home. This book contains new and original information and photographs about the film The Quiet Man. Des MacHale has found a range of unexpected new information about the film. The book opens with the letters of John Ford's secretary, Meta Sterne, giving authentic information and commentary about what went on behind the scenes on location in Ireland. There were many rumours of a sequel to The Quiet Man but they never came off. However, a belated sequel Only the Lonely starring Maureen O'Hara was produced in 1991 and it is described and analysed. The emergence of the screenplay of The Quiet Man is a long and complicated saga. The book examines the initial rejected screenplay by the Welsh novelist Richard Llewellyn which contained much of the inspiration for the final cut of the movie. The memoirs of Maureen Coyne--Cashman, who lives in Brooklyn, New York, are published here for the first time. She is one of the few surviving bit players and she describes her experiences on set with Wayne, O'Hara, and Ford. The real-life incidents on which the ecumenical scenes in the film are based are discussed.The final part of the book covers more recent events including the Quiet Man conference held in Galway in 2004 and the opening of Pat Cohan's bar in 2008 which featured in the film as a real bar. The book also contains dozens of previously unseen stills from the movie and many unseen photographs of locations and personalities.

Des Machale

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