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  • Published: 18 February 2025
  • ISBN: 9781785948541
  • Imprint: BBC Books
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 208
  • RRP: $36.99

188 Words for Rain

A delightfully damp tour of the British Isles, led by natural forces (an official BBC Weather book)




An official BBC Weather book and a charming tour around the UK, celebrating our very British obsession with rain.

‘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.

  • Published: 18 February 2025
  • ISBN: 9781785948541
  • Imprint: BBC Books
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 208
  • RRP: $36.99

About the author

Alan Connor

Alan Connor's books include 188 Words for Rain, Two Girls, One on Each Knee and The Joy of Quiz. He has been the question editor for Richard Osman's House of Games and Only Connect. He has written official books for The Traitors, Pointless, The Shipping Forecast and Jack Reacher. He has been the puzzle consultant for Ludwig and Inside No 9. He is an Emmy-nominated scriptwriter whose credits include Borat 2, Charlie Brooker's Wipe and Have I Got News for You. He writes in the shed on his family's allotment where possible.

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