Schott's Significa - by Ben Schott (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Here is an obsessive and fascinating look at the systems of language and knowledge that surrounds us. Ben Schott breaks down the lingo, slang, and jargon found in dozens of fascinating professions, events, and subcultures--from the insider language used in casino gambling to the NYC diamond district and professional sommeliers to London cabbies. For those who wish to gain access to rarified worlds, this book is an elegant and smart look at so much hiding in plain sight around us. With its gorgeously erudite and detailed design, full-color photos throughout, and thoroughly researched survey of lingo and culture, Schott's Significa will change how you see the world."--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

The perfect gift for word lovers, trivia fanatics, and the culturally curious. From the author of the international bestseller Schott's Original Miscellany comes a visually rich book that breaks down the colorful language and systems of signs that make up the vocabulary of our world. Named a Best Book of October 2025 by Kirkus, Financial Times, and Town & Country

Here is an obsessive and fascinating look at the systems of language and knowledge that surrounds us. Ben Schott breaks down the lingo, slang, and jargon found in dozens of fascinating professions, events, and subcultures--from the insider language used in casino gambling to the NYC diamond district and professional sommeliers to London cabbies.

For those who wish to gain access to rarified worlds, this book is an elegant and smart look at so much hiding in plain sight around us. With its gorgeously erudite and detailed design, full-color photos throughout, and thoroughly researched survey of lingo and culture, Schott's Significa will change how you see the world.

Review Quotes

"A deeply reported and constantly surprising book in which he uses the private languages of various communities - from gondoliers to graffiti writers and from Swifties to sommeliers - as a way of understanding their worlds. . . . [His] shoe-leather reporting yields results that you could never get from Google or ChatGPT."
--Spectator (U.K.)

"A fascinating and humorous compendium of unique vocabularies. . . . This is perfectly designed for browsing, but readers will find themselves compulsively reading just one more chapter."
--Booklist

"Ben Schott . . . is one of the great wordsmiths of our time. His new book, Schott's Significa, will make readers stop and think for a delightful minute or two about the terms they throw around every day. It's also an arsenal of possibilities for future conversations."
--Bloomberg

"Each chapter of Schott's Significa is a dinner party next to a delightfully peculiar guest. With wit and precision, Ben Schott promotes a sense of wonder . . . A treat for any trivia-inclined reader!"
--Annie Rauwerda, founder of Depths of Wikipedia

"I can't remember when I've gotten so much pure pleasure from a book--or learned so many amazing things from one. No bathroom or bedside table should be without a copy of Schott's Significa."
--Jacob Weisberg, former Editor of Slate and co-founder of Pushkin Industries

"Opening a new book by Ben Schott . . . feels like finding a key to a secret world. In the case of his new book, Schott's Significa, it unlocks no fewer than 53 worlds (medicine, horse racing, and espionage, to name three) all of which he renders in fascinating and hilarious detail."
--Town & Country

"Schott cultivates a wry, bemused tone, with a finely tuned ear for terms that are thick in irony. . . . An engrossing compendium for word nerds and armchair sociologists alike."
--Kirkus, STARRED REVIEW

"Schott explains everything you want to know about everything you should need to know. . . . This is the Rosetta stone for modern times."
--Graydon Carter, former editor of Vanity Fair and founder of Air Mail

"The world's secret languages, decoded."
--Financial Times

"This truly remarkable book is quite unlike any other work of etymology or entertainment. As with all of Ben Schott's works, the reader is left by turns amused and intrigued but always amazed, and asking, 'How can he know all this stuff?!'"
--Andrew Roberts, historian

"Tumble from one subculture to another, immerse yourself in the private code of each, delight in Ben Schott's ingenious translation and, as you turn the elegantly designed pages, you'll just watch your world get bigger. Rabbit holes are rarely this satisfying."
--Adam Moss, author of The Work of Art: How Something Comes from Nothing

"You will be astounded at how many times per page you'll exclaim, 'I didn't know that!' as you encounter marvelous fact after marvelous fact after marvelous fact, all of it presented with the irresistible delight of secrets revealed. I'm sure you'll be dipping into it over and over."

--Benjamin Dreyer, New York Times bestselling author of Dreyer's English

About the Author

Ben Schott is the creator and designer of the international bestseller Schott's Original Miscellany. and its three sequels. He subsequently published a series of Miscellanies and Almanacs and the book Schottenfreude, which have sold 2.5 million copies in 21 languages (including Braille). Ben has written for The Times, The Telegraph, The New York Times, The Spectator, The Guardian, Private Eye, Reader's Digest, The Paris Review, Bloomberg Opinion, Bon Appétit, Portfolio, The Paris Review, and Playboy. In 2015 he won the James Beard award for humo(u)r, and in 2004 he won a D&AD Pencil for Creative Excellence.