‘Alan knows everything, knows everyone, and writes beautifully too.’
RICHARD OSMAN

‘The man with the contents of the Oxford English Dictionary stored just above his left eyebrow … and he’s quite funny too.’
RORY CELLAN-JONES

'A gorgeous, funny tour of the British Isles as seen from the clouds.’
KONNIE HUQ


For fans of THE ETYMOLOGICON and VERY BRITISH PROBLEMS, a delightfully damp tour of the British Isles.


Mizzle. Dreich. Raining knives and forks. A real mugga-fisty. A spot of plother...

We Brits love talking about the weather. So much so that our islands have hundreds of words and phrases for rain, some self-explanatory and others that really leave us scratching our heads. From a light smirr in Aberdeen to a "it's raining knives and forks!" in the Brecon Beacons, each type of rain tells a story about the people and places it falls on.

In this delightfully damp tour of the British Isles, writer and puddle-splasher Alan Connor digs deep into the meaning and quirky histories of over one hundred words for precipitation. He gets caught in a plash in Northumberland, crashes a fox's wedding in Devon and ponders the phenomenon of Brits-who-picnic-in-the-car, in this charming and witty celebration of our very British obsession.

Alan Connor has had a column about words in the Guardian since 2011. His comedy writing includes Charlie Brooker’s Wipe programmes and Have I Got News For You. His previous books have dealt with why we enjoy quiz questions and what life is like in different areas of the Shipping Forecast. His favourite kind of rain is a fine, misty Scottish smirr.