The Foolish Dictionary

Charles Wayland Towne (1875 - 1965)

"The Foolish Dictionary" was written by "Gideon Wurdz" (the pen name for Charles Wayland Towne) and was published in 1904. According to the beginning of the book, it is "An exhausting work of reference to un-certain English words, their origin, meaning, legitimate and illegitimate use..."

This a a short but amusing dictionary which "redefines" words in some interesting ways. Funny and sometimes bizarre observations are sprinkled throughout. In keeping with LibriVox policy to read, rather than attempt to rewrite, books - even those with offensive content - nothing has been omitted. While many of the definitions may just seem confusing or "corny" to modern readers, there are a couple that also might be considered "objectionable," particularly in section 10, which contains offensive content of a racial nature.

Summary by Maddie

Genre(s): Humorous Fiction

Language: English

Section Chapter Reader Time
Play 01 Preface and Letter A Maddie
00:06:52
Play 02 Letter B Alex Buie
00:06:30
Play 03 Letter C Alex Patterson
00:05:02
Play 04 Letter D Alex Patterson
00:04:28
Play 05 Letter E donnie
00:03:48
Play 06 Letter F and G donnie
00:07:37
Play 07 Letter H Nikolle Doolin
00:06:40
Play 08 Letter I and J Christiane Levesque
00:06:48
Play 09 Letter K and L Catharine Eastman
00:08:06
Play 10 Letter M and N J.C.
00:06:58
Play 11 Letter O and P J.C.
00:08:19
Play 12 Letter Q and R featherheadfop
00:05:35
Play 13 Letter S featherheadfop
00:04:32
Play 14 Letter T J.C.
00:03:12
Play 15 Letter U - Z J.C.
00:06:10
Play 16 Postage and Postal Information Kristin Hughes (1974-2021)
00:03:00
Play 17 A Few Mythological and Classical Names Denny Sayers (d. 2015)
00:06:06
Play 18 Legal and Local Holidays in the United States Denny Sayers (d. 2015)
00:05:44