Heavy Words Lightly Thrown: The Reason Behind the Rhyme

I love the etymology of words.  When I came across the book Heavy Words Lightly Thrown:  The Reason Behind the Rhyme by Chris Roberts I became very excited.  A book that explains the meanings of nursery rhymes -- awesome!  The concept of this book, especially as a new parent, is totally spot on. However, as I should have considered, the explanations might contain a bit of drudgery.

Thankfully, Roberts writing style emulates that of many of my favorite British comedians:  John Clease and anyone from Monty Python's Flying Circus immediately come to mind!  Roberts is sneaky.  The humor is subtle and you have to read everything he's written because otherwise you might miss some hidden jocular gem.

The glossary he added to the American edition was immensely helpful.  Not quite the Anglophile I thought I was, I consulted the glossary almost every instance an asterisk popped up.  I was also intrigued by the concept of "rhyming slang" and spent considerable time trying to completely understand it.  Although my inability to fully grasp the intricacies of this Cockney slang completely explain my lack of understanding for the movies Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels or Snatch!