A print-by-mail subscription
one word a month, and the whole world behind it
Each month, one everyday word turns out to have a secret, and the whole story arrives at your door, beautifully printed. The gift for anyone who loves words, and a treat to keep for yourself.
Every issue takes one ordinary word and finds the secret in it. Gift, it turns out, is the German word for poison. Twelve little jolts of delight across the year.
The big reader. The crossword-doer. The one who always asks where a word comes from. If that is someone on your list, you have just found their gift.
Not one more thing to unwrap and forget. A beautiful little issue lands in the mail each month, a treat to look forward to and then keep on the shelf.
Here is a whole issue, on the word gift. Have a flip through, or read the lot as a PDF. This is exactly what lands in the mailbox.
Three months as a taste, or a full year as a gift they will not see coming. Either way the issues come one a month, starting with issue No. I at the start of next month.
$39
Not sure yet? The easy way to try, or a small gift. Three surprises in the mail.
Give three months$130
The best value, and the gift that keeps on arriving. Twelve issues across the year.
Give the yearFor yourself or as a gift: at checkout you add the delivery address, plus a short note if it is a present. On a phone, pay in one tap with Apple Pay or Google Pay.
Secure checkout through Stripe · ships within the USA.
Both are single purchases: nothing renews and nothing bills again. Not sure yet? Three months is the easy way to try. The year comes at a deep discount, so it stays final once it ships.
Give the year and they get twelve small surprises, one a month, each one a word they thought they knew. Issues mail at the start of each month, and your note goes inside the first one.
Ask about giftingIf they like a good story, a crossword, or a bit of trivia, yes. There is no jargon and nothing to study. Each issue is a small, surprising read, not a textbook.
Issues mail at the beginning of each month. Order any time this month and the first issue goes out at the start of next month, with a note that says it is from you.
A printed issue in the mailbox, once a month, anywhere in the United States. No app, no login, no screen. Just a beautiful little thing to read and then keep on the shelf.
Even the experts get caught out. (Gift is the German word for poison; species and spice are the same word.) The pleasure is in the stories, not in being quizzed.
No. You check out, and each issue arrives as real, physical mail: a printed issue in an envelope, delivered to their mailbox by the postal service. They never need an account, a password, or a screen.
No. Both plans are single purchases that simply end on their own, so there is nothing to remember to cancel. Want it to carry on? Buy again any time and the issues pick up exactly where they left off.
Twelve small surprises in the mail, for someone who loves words.
Give the year