The Meaning of Liff by Douglas Adams and John Lloyd is the same age as my marriage so when Gaby Jerrard sent me the brand new 42nd anniversary edition I couldn’t have been happier. It’s my pleasure to share my review of The Meaning of Liff today. 

Published by Pan Macmillan on 23rd October 2025, The Meaning of Liff is available for purchase through the publisher links here. 

The Meaning of Liff

From Douglas Adams (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) and John Lloyd (Blackadder, Spitting Image, QI), this is the 42nd anniversary edition of The Meaning of Liff. Revised, updated and ready to change your life.

In life, there are hundreds of familiar experiences, feelings and objects for which no words exist, yet hundreds of strange words are idly loafing around on signposts, pointing at places. The Meaning of Liff connects the two. This is a hilariously essential dictionary of things there should be words for – where all the words themselves are recycled place names.

BERRIWILLOCK (n.) – An unknown workmate who writes ‘All the best’ on your leaving card.

ELY (n.) – The first, tiniest inkling that something, somewhere has gone terribly wrong.

GRIMBISTER (n.) – Large body of cars on a motorway all travelling at exactly the speed limit because one of them is a police car.

KETTERING (n.) – The marks left on your bottom or thighs after sunbathing on a wickerwork chair.

OCKLE (n.) – An electrical switch which appears to be off in both positions.

WOKING (ptcpl.vb.) – Standing in the kitchen wondering what you came in here for.

42 years later, The Meaning of Liff is back, but in a snazzier jacket.

Think of it as a mid-liff crisis.

My Review of The Meaning of Liff

A special 42nd anniversary edition.

What on earth can I say about The Meaning of Liff? It’s bonkers, brilliant and reading it feels like a Burwash (buy the book and look it up!) and any fan of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy will love it.

Given that this is a special anniversary edition, I just want to comment on Douglas Adams’ insistence that the book must be of a size to fit into a pocket. This means that The Meaning of Liff is perfect for slipping into a bag or pocket and reading at those moments when life needs some lightness. I loved the space-blue background, gold lettering, the suggestion of stars and the robust cover too as they give a feeling of quality.  

I was surprised by John Lloyd’s preface as it reveals aspects I hadn’t previously known about his working relationship with Douglas Adams. Add in the map of the world and the narrative contained in the dialogue of the previous prefaces, and The Meaning of Liff entertains before it’s actually begun.

It was such a treat to work my way through what is, essentially, an alphabetical list of international place names that have been given zany, witty or humorous definitions. I was particularly entertained by Kettering (where I was born) – ‘The marks left on your bottom or thighs after sunbathing on a wickerwork chair’ and Oundle (where I went to school) – ‘To walk along leaning sideways, with one arm hanging limp and dragging one leg behind the other. Most commonly used by actors in amateur productions of Richard III, or by people carrying a heavy suitcase in one hand’ as this was my default gait when traipsing home from Oundle via the school bus with all my A’Level text books.

In addition, there’s a completely insane Index of Meanings that is enormously entertaining and somewhat anarchic, providing place names for a wide range of ordinary words, thereby inverting the structure of the main book. I don’t think I have ever read an index to a book from start to finish before and this one has some real surprises. 

The Meaning of Liff will not suit every reader. Those who are not fans of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy probably won’t find it Clixby. However, they are probably Ainderby Quernhow or Kibblesworth, as I thought it was a wonderfully nostalgic, witty read that lifts the spirits and brings a whole lot of fun. It made me chortle throughout. The Meaning of Liff would be a great gift book for the person who has everything.

About Douglas Adams

Douglas Adams created all the various and contradictory manifestations of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: radio, novels, TV, computer game, stage adaptations, comic book and bath towel. He lectured and broadcast around the world and was a patron of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and Save the Rhino International. Douglas Adams was born in Cambridge, UK and lived with his wife and daughter in Islington, London, before moving to Santa Barbara, California, where he died suddenly in 2001.

About John Lloyd

John Lloyd is one of the most successful television comedy producers of all time, having been responsible for Not the Nine O’Clock News, Blackadder, QI and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.