Words: zythum, n.

SEVERAL YEARS ago, there was intense competition in New York to be the last person listed in one particular telephone directory. One man had held pole position for some years by listing his name as Mr Zzyzz, but he was ousted by an even more determined character, who called himself Mr Zzzyzzz.

In similar fashion, the new Chambers Dictionary has gone one up over its rivals with zythum. Other dictionaries may stop at zymurgy (the branch of chemistry dealing with fermentation) and Zyrian (A Finno-Ugric language or people of north-east Russia), but Chambers adds one for the road with zythum - a kind of beer made by the ancient Egytians. It was highly commended in the first century BC by the writer Diodorus Siculus, apparently.