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Fry's English Delight (Series 1)
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Series: Fry's English Delight, Book 1
- Length: 1 hr and 52 mins
- Categories: Politics & Social Sciences, Social Sciences
Non-member price: $10.60
Publisher's Summary
National treasure and renowned wit Stephen Fry explores the highways and byways of the English language in these celebrated programmes.
In each episode, Fry explores the oddities and celebrates the curiosities of the language we use. His love of words is indulged with infectious enthusiasm and intellectual curiosity at all times.
From puns and metaphors to clichés and gibberish, this famously witty, incisive and engaging series explores the joys of the English language.
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What listeners say about Fry's English Delight (Series 1)
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- JBO
- 06-08-2018
Fun and interesting
The magic behind the English language which we all take for granted. Particularly liked the chapter on Metaphors.
6 people found this helpful
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- Kevin Etherington
- 07-11-2020
The Dog’s Bolloxxs
Dulcet tones, wisdom of the ages, the dog’s bollocks, the cream of the crop. Clichés explained, enjoyed and deserved.
2 people found this helpful
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- Malcolm
- 23-07-2019
Great intellectual amusement
Fry, the man, the legend takes us once again on an oratory journey which entertains and stimulates. A great way to pass the time and absorb some of his immense knowledge!
2 people found this helpful
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- Sam
- 25-03-2019
Funny & interesting
I enjoy these relatively short dialogues by Stephen Fry, they delve into the hidden meanings & rich history of the English language in an informative yet light dissection.
2 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 18-03-2019
Simply delightful
Love anything Stephen Fry reads! He is a wonder to listen too. This series is both hilarious and equally educational. Great easy listen for short walks or drives. Looking forward to the next 7 installments :)
2 people found this helpful
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- Chris
- 02-07-2020
Enjoyable
As always Stephen Fry is brilliant. The subject matter was lacking and sounded a bit forced.
1 person found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 01-03-2020
Share worthy
I found this educational as well as interesting but mostly very easy to listen to.
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- Anonymous User
- 20-02-2020
Love Stephens Delivery
Was easy to listen to and relate to. All the quirks over the topics really made me think ...Puns, clichés, metaphors etc... love listening to him and the people delivering the educational delites.
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- Nicky Webber
- 15-11-2019
Thoroughly enjoyed this take on origins of sayings
Entertaining and amusing exploration of the origins of metaphors and human madness. In the English language. Thanks
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- Anonymous User
- 01-09-2019
Origins of English idioms & oddities
Mum would have enjoyed this series of podcasts. It demonstrates that turns of phrase develop and their progression into contemporary conversation progress through language evolving as much as we as humans.
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- Simon
- 03-08-2018
Charming as Ever!
Stephen Fry and the rich tapestry that is the English language; it's hard to imagine that being a bad combination and this show demonstrates just why. Fry may be a bit of a posh bloke who admits to enjoying a pee in the shower but he's a national treasure as far as I am concerned. In this series he tackles puns and cliches with equal aplomb and I definitely learned a thing or two about the English language. A thoroughly pleasant and engaging listen.
25 people found this helpful
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- Graham Dunne
- 21-02-2018
Great fun...
If you could sum up Fry's English Delight (Series 1) in three words, what would they be?
as delightful as an English "Fry" on a Sunday morning... you'll need to listen to understand :-)
What does Stephen Fry bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
I'd listen to Steven Fry talk about paint drying... he's wonderful
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Sea Metaphors!!!! :-)
Any additional comments?
Listen to it...
28 people found this helpful
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- Roobarb
- 18-11-2018
Fascinating
Stephen Fry tells you loads of things you didn't know and never knew you needed to know till now. Wonderfully interesting.
4 people found this helpful
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- Mr. A. P. Buckley
- 09-09-2020
Delightful
Enjoyable and definitely worthwhile listening.
Informative and thought provoking yet easy listening.
Just downloaded the rest of the series
1 person found this helpful
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- Ben
- 13-01-2020
Never ignore a pooh-pooh...
Stephen Fry's intelligence just OOZES out of this wonderful audioseries! Integrating the use of extreme intellectual ability and comedy and mixing them together is quite difficult, but not for this FABULOUS performance. I feel a bit bad that I didn't pay anything for how much research must've gone into this. But all in all, you learn something, you get a laugh, and it's free!
1 person found this helpful
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- Rachel
- 23-08-2019
Wonderful commentary of the English Language
Well presented, informative, easy-listening and fascinating. Fantastic if you love philosophy of (the English) language.
1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 22-08-2019
Fry delight!
Listening to Mr Fry is delight! Superb as usual. I start to suspect that even a washing mashine manual would be thrilling experience read by him.
1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 26-07-2019
fabulous fry
There is nothing finer to while away a long train journey than to have the silky smooth dulcet tones of a Stephen Fry monologue quietly whispering in your ears. A relatively short but excellent production from the god among mankind himself. Worth every penny when it's free :)
1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 21-12-2018
It tickles
Sheer joy hearing Stephen Fry play with the English language. The whole thing is a tickle session for the ears.
1 person found this helpful
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- Meera
- 29-09-2018
Informative
A highly informative series on a number of things within the English language, using a number of highly credible sources. There is very little of Stephen Fry compared to the sources speaking. It is still interesting to hear about the sources of words and phrases. You need to be in a mood to listen however otherwise the subtle humor can be lost on you. Very much for those interested in words than anyone else.
1 person found this helpful
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