Weird words defined in 'Pop Vocabulary Book'

By Karl Peterson
On-line Forty-Niner

Most people do not know the meaning of the word lethologica. Luckily, if you are one of those people, "The Pop Vocabulary Book" by Nick Camas is for you.

"Lethologica: the temporary inability to remember a word or name," is a problem for many. That as well as almost 1,900 other words is defined in this user-friendly tool for aspiring wordsmiths.

The book is geared toward college students who want to increase their vocabulary, but don't want to spend hours poring through an unabridged dictionary.

"The Pop Vocabulary Book" is well designed with an easy to read format and the definitions include only the most prevalent uses.

"Many people, such as ardent readers, students or professionals, admire the rich, sharp, powerful verbal proficiency of celebrated novelists, journalists, speechwriters and media personalities who use language at the highest level," Camas said. "By producing and condensing my own word list, I've developed an easy, efficient way to expand and enrich your vocabulary."

From apple-knocker to yokel, zealot to aficionado, the author compiled foreign, slang, humorous and contemporary words in a way that makes them easy to remember, and allows the reader to use the right word in every situation.

The book is more valuable than a dictionary because "nobody is going to buy a dictionary and start reading from the letter 'a'," he said. Aside from being an author Camas was educated as a lawyer, and is a pianist.

Camas could not think of a word that is misused the most, but the book is valuable for those who are concerned about misuse of slang words, of which the definitions are not readily available.

Camas said that the book, which can be bought on-line as well as in many bookstores, has the potential to be a best seller because of its "efficient and convenient" format and its reasonable price, $9.95.

Camas, an unmarried resident of Seal Beach, said that his favorite word in the book is "mousemilking: the investment of maximum time and effort for minimum return, as on a business venture or an academic project."

"[It is] funny sounding, clever and reflects real life. It is a word that people can identify with."

The book is in its third printing because of recent sales appeal but Camas said no changes were made to the book since its original printing in 1996.

Camas was inspired to write the book because he could not find an effective way to study vocabulary. He spent 10 months choosing words from dictionaries, thesaurus, media, and from daily readings to complete the 1858-word book.

"I chose words which I thought were newly-emerging in popularity, revealing or amusing," Camas said. "I selected the works that people may have overlooked or that they may have heard without knowing the meaning."

"The Pop Vocabulary Book" will help you to develop a vocabulary that includes words that even the computer spell-check does not know, as well as impress professors, develop writing skills or just give you the ability to just show off.