"Here in a handy, dandy little volume is a splendid collection of the most abusive words and phrases that Johnson collected -- drawn from his classic Dictionary. Even if you are too civil, or wimpy, to put them to use, there's much charm from the first entry ("abbey-lubber: A slothful loiterer in a religious house") to the penultimate ("witworm: one that feeds on wit; a canker of wit.") And for this already trying year for democratic process, you might hold this in reserve: "politicaster: a petty ignorant pretender to politics."—Michael Pakenham, Baltimore Sun, Editor's Choice

"This masterly compendium of malicious wit reveals Dr. Johnson as a world-class curmudgeon, and that, Sir, is high praise indeed." —Jon Winokur, author of The Portable Curmudgeon and The Traveling Curmudgeon