{"product_id":"around-the-world-in-word-puzzles","title":"The Language Lover's Puzzle Book","description":"\u003cb\u003e100 wonder-filled word puzzles that thrill and tantalize with the beauty, magic, and weirdness of world language\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Whether you’re a crossword solver, cryptogram fan, Scrabble addict, or Sudoku savant, \u003ci\u003eThe Language Lover’s Puzzle Book\u003c\/i\u003e is guaranteed to tease your brain and twist your tongue. Puzzle master Alex Bellos begins in Japan, where we can observe some curious counting:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eboru niko\u003c\/i\u003e = two balls\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003etsuna nihon\u003c\/i\u003e = two ropes\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003euma nito\u003c\/i\u003e = two horses\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ekami nimai\u003c\/i\u003e = two sheets of paper\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eashi gohon\u003c\/i\u003e = five legs\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eringo goko\u003c\/i\u003e = five apples\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003esara gomai\u003c\/i\u003e = five plates\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ekaba goto\u003c\/i\u003e = five hippos\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Now, how do the Japanese say “nine cucumbers”?*\u003cbr\u003e a) \u003ci\u003ekyuri kyuhon \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e b) \u003ci\u003ekyuri kyuko \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e c) \u003ci\u003ekyuri kyuhiki \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e d) \u003ci\u003ekyuri kyuto\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Bellos finds the intrigue—and the human element—in a dizzying array of ancient, modern, and even invented tongues, from hieroglyphs to Blissymbolics, Danish to Dothraki. Filled with unusual alphabets, fascinating characters, and intriguing local customs for time-telling, naming children, and more, this is a bravura book of brainteasers and \u003ci\u003ebeyond\u003c\/i\u003e—it’s a globe-trotting, time-traveling celebration of language.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e*The word endings depend on shape: Flat things end in -mai and spherical things end in -ko. Cucumbers are long things (like ropes and legs), so they end in -hon. The answer is (a)!","brand":"Workman Publishing","offers":[{"title":"9781615198047","offer_id":37710606532785,"sku":"9781615198047","price":16.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"9781615198054","offer_id":38182530089137,"sku":"9781615198054","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1210\/1100\/products\/9781615198054-optimized.jpg?v=1670908423","url":"https:\/\/workman-feed-prod.myshopify.com\/products\/around-the-world-in-word-puzzles","provider":"zzz_Workman Publishing","version":"1.0","type":"link"}