What are words? They're the beginning of our stories: portals to treasured memories, to the strange sayings that seem to be unique to our own families and the beloved people that say them to us. So, what was your gran's favourite word for a time-waster? How did your dad answer the question 'What's the time?'? And just how many responses are there to the daily query 'What's for dinner?' Even better, how do these words change as they travel across our regions?

In a joyful journey through a year of weird words and fantastic phrases, one of the nation's favourite wordsmiths takes a tour of the British Isles and all its vernacular idiosyncrasies, as well as reflecting on the joys of English, in a delightful book for anyone who loves language - whether following its rules or breaking them!