New Zealanders have their own lingo - favourite words and expressions which, although not always unique to this country, have been absorbed into our lives and become part of who we are. They include words that came with the early settlers or were coined by them in response to a new environment, words that travelled across the Tasman as a result of interaction with Australia, and Maori words that came to be part of our distinctive national vocabulary.

Following the phenomenal success of his earlier book Curious Questions, broadcaster and linguistic detective Max Cryer now shares his own selection of favourite words and phrases used by New Zealanders. This does not pretend to be a comprehensive dictionary, but rather a collectionof those Kiwi expressions that Max considers are the most dintinctive and interesting. In most cases he not only gives the meaning but also offers an illuminating potted history of the word. From 'hangi' to 'gumboots', from 'give it heaps' to 'pack a sad', Curious Kiwi Words is chock-full of fascinting information for Kiwis and tourists alike.