An Empty Shell - Rated 
'The Meaning of Tingo' is supposedly an extensive list of extraordinary phrases used in other languages and their meaning. It has an exciting premise, promising blurb, and enticing introduction. But from the very start it is a disappointment.
For a start de Boinod includes all the really humorous examples in his introduction leaving little else of real substance for the rest of the book. What it becomes is a book of translations from English words alongside their direct translations, which themselves are mostly mundane and normal. For example the first page shows a long list of different words meaning hello, which are interesting at first but quickly become tedious.
Furthermore there is no guide to how to pronounce the words, which wouldn't have been hard to include with proper research. This makes it impossible to understand how they are spoken.
There are not many sketches like the front cover and they are rarely humorous, as well as being done by a different artist. The book gets a excellent review from the great Stephen Fry but bearing in mind that he is the presenter of QI, the programme for which de Boinod is a researcher, this should be taken with a pinch of salt.
Occasionally there are truly interesting and quirky examples (such as the local name for Bangkok - the longest place name in the world), and these just about save it from a one star review. Ultimately 'The meaning of Tingo' strikes the reader as a good idea which didn't have the material to create a satisfactory book.
It does what it says on the label - Rated 
A wonderfully light and uplifting read. Great for the loo, waiting rooms or sharing with a friend over a glass of wine or a cup of coffee. The author has found some wonderfully obscure and diversely interesting examples of lingual communication, which often embarress the native speakers who deny the existance of these words - just because you haven't heard them doesn't mean they have not been heard before. The origins and roots of the English language would not be recognised by modern English speakers, even today some of my English friends admit to needing an interpreter when they travel to Scotland and Italian friends of mine from the Mountain regions of Italy do not understand a word of my Roman Uncle's Italian and speak with him in French or English, neither deny the authenticity of the other. I love this book. It broadens the vocabulary and the mind.
Factually Deficient - Rated 
Based on the fact that most expressions from my own language, German, were either very rare or completely new to me, and often inexplicably misspelled, I suspect similar problems in the entries for other languages. After all, the German entries suggest that the author is either careless, or inept, or simply misinformed. And why should he be so only when it comes to one language? In any case, should you want a book that gives you expressions actually used in other countries, this is probably not it.
Broaden your mind and have fun at the same time - Rated
If you have any interest at all in the world outside your own and you're intrigued by language and languages, you'll enjoy these books (The Meaning of Tingo and Toujours Tingo) as much as I did. But, for goodness' sake, don't think of them as phrase books to use in conversation should you visit any of the countries mentioned. I'm sure the author never intended them to be used that way. As for the reviewers who take issue with linguistic accuracy, I can think of many English words and phrases that would be alien to most English speakers yet nevertheless exist and are used by the natives! Just because I've never heard the words or phrases doesn't mean they don't exist somewhere in the broader lexicon.
Tedious Tingo - Rated
I'd read about this book in some of the press and was looking forward to getting it - what a disappointment. Sure there are some amusing words, but the vast majority you could not care less what they meant. After the first few pages it just starts to resemble a directory - and we all know how boring they are. Enough invention and amusement to carry a few pages but not a whole book in my view- but I guess its Christmas and that's when a lot of these tedious supposedly funny list books appear.
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