FAQs

So. Why are you called HaggardHawks?

Good question. It’s taken from the title of the book that started it all off—it just so happens that the Twitter feed is now much bigger than the book... For more info on the connection between haggard and hawks, click here. For more info on Paul and the origins of the Twitter feed, try here.

Are all of your words genuine?

Yes! As a general rule, nothing gets tweeted that doesn’t appear in two (or more) of the HaggardHawks sources, unless the source is question is an academic or otherwise particularly reliable publication. All the other facts and statistics we tweet are all cross-checked as best as we possibly can. 

No, seriously. Are they all genuine?

Yes. Seriously, yes.

Even that one about jesters and funerals?

Yes. Even that one.

So who/what/where are you?

@HaggardHawks was started by Paul Anthony Jones, who wrote the book on which the account is based and who writes the HaggardHawks articles over at Mental Floss and fronts the YouTube channel. Paul’s based in Newcastle upon Tyne—you can check out his website here, and a full archive of all his and HaggardHawks’ articles here. If you’re interested in contributing or collaborating though, get in touch!

Where do you get your material from?

There’s an ever-growing bibliographical list of sources here, but the simple answer is that lot of what we tweet comes from the OED, Paul’s far too large collection of old and out-of-print dictionaries, and from a whole host of old dialect dictionaries and glossaries—many of which are available on GoogleBooks and Archive.org.

Can I get a book of your facts?

Yes, you can—Paul’s book Word Drops: A Sprinkling of Linguistic Curiosities was released in the UK on 16 April 2015, and in the US on 1 April 2016 (apologies for the delay, USA!). A Kindle version is also available worldwide through Amazon.com. There are a lot more developments in the pipeline though, so keep an eye on the Twitter feed, the blog page, or Paul’s website for updates.

Can I ask you question/tell you about a word/correct your tweet?

Yes! We’re always open to queries, questions and corrections, and we’re trying to make getting in touch as easy as possible. Try tweeting us, leaving a comment on the blog, or sending us a message using the form on the right—or, to contact Paul directly, you can get in touch here, or follow him on Twitter here. 

I asked you a question and you never answered it. What’s up with that?
Sorry. Really. We do try to acknowledge or answer everyone’s comments, of course, but with more than 15,000 followers and 120+ tweets going out every week, the fact is that there can be a lot to get through. HH isn’t manned 24/7, so it’s possible that your comment or question might get overlooked—for which we’re really very sorry. Try getting in touch again, and we’ll hopefully get round to you!

Are you on Facebook?
We weren’t, but we are now—head over to www.facebook.com/haggardhawks!

You’re good with words—how do you spell consensus?

C. O. N. C. No, wait, there’s an S in there somewhere.