Lists place-names alphabetically, attributing to each a definition which is humorous and somehow appropriate— for example:
Kalami (n.) The ancient Eastern art of being able to
fold road-maps properly
Oshkosh (n., vb.) The noise made by someone who has just been grossly flattered and is trying to make light of it.
The final 34 pages are a (single-column) 'Index of
meanings', taking topics from the contents of the definitions and referring, not to the page on which they occur, but to the place-name itself—thus:
gusto, terrific, tuneless: Royston
hat behind, leaving one's: Hidcote Bartram
lawnmowers, frustrated: Trispen
madmen, departed, in toasters: Throckmorton
Topics are enhanced in the index: 'Ice, octogenarians
under the: Wivenhoe' refers to the definition, 'The cry of alacrity with which a sprightly eighty-year-old breaks the ice on the lake when going for a swim on Christmas Eve'; and 'Number, wrong, so she claims: Kurdistan' to, 'hard stare given by a husband to his wife when he notices a sharp increase in the number of times he answers the phone to be told, "Sorry, wrong number'". There are cross-references in the text; a Wembley is 'the hideous moment of confirmation that the disaster presaged in the
ely (q.v.) has actually struck'. Subheadings are used
indeed; 26 under 'objects' ('heavy, with toes on: Clun') and 31 under 'noises' ('gushing and cooing: Oshkosh').
Reference direct to place-names lends a new fascination to the index. Rarely can simple page references be perplexing in conjunction with the index entry; but why should 'fish, tropical, stupid' lead to Stoke Pogesi Why, 'pyjamas, muslim' to Albuquerque1. We glimpse a new criterion for assessment of indexes; they should make the reader eager to turn to the text cited. Can readers send us other examples of indexes that achieve this?