Alex Horne: Wordwatching

Having once written to the Oxford English dictionary to remark on the absence of the word 'karmically', I was very much looking forward to Alex Horne's tales of his attempt to get new words into the dictionary. I am even more delighted when it is decided that tonight's show was being brought to us, Sesame Street-style, by the letter K. This joy raises my expectations pretty high and I'm pleased to say Horne does not disappoint. Accustomed to dealing with a lot of comedy with a wry smile, I can't remember last time a show elicited so much genuine laughter.

With each show brought to us by a different letter of the alphabet, Horne shows himself to be astonishingly quick thinking, with some brilliant comebacks in response to the audience interaction. He is, if anything, a little too friendly to the audience, stopping to hear every rambling comment, which can interfere with the pace of the show. Similarly, the audio visual support is incredible, but even Horne himself admits that elements are kept in the show because of the effort they took in preparation.

As he stops on the way for anecdotes on Natasha Kaplinksi (who's 6'2", apparently) and some tremendous puns, you can't help but root for Horne's plan and scowl at the wikipedia editors who refuse to accept his neologisms. If you've ever played Scrabble, watched Countdown, tried to reattribute a word's meaning or resurrect long forgotten slang, check out the website and help push Horne's noble attempt forward with your own bare paddles.