Monthly Gleanings
Anatoly responds to comments on spelling reform.
“Big-Up” on the Rise
Ben Zimmer big-ups the word “big-up”.
Darkness At Noon And At All Other Times
Anatoly considers the addition of suffixes.
“Primary” Colors
Ben embraces the spirit of the season and looks at the words primary and caucus.
The Oddest English Spellings, or, The Future of Spelling Reform
Is the spellchecker compromising language history? Anatoly weighs in on spelling reform.
“Subprime” Ready for Prime Time
Ben Zimmer looks at The American Dialect Society’s word of the year.
The Origins of Buzzwords
Anatoly looks at everyday buzzwords.
Should “Decimate” be Annihilated?
Ben Zimmer looks at the word “decimate”.
A Word in Season: Blizzard
Anatoly looks at the origin of the word “blizzard.”
Our Nameless Decade: What “Aught” We Call It?
Ben Zimmer wonders what we will call this decade.
Monthly Gleanings
Anatoly answers questions that have come up throughout the month.
Quixotic Coinages: The Failure of the Epicene Pronoun
Earlier this week I spent an enjoyable hour being interviewed on the Wisconsin Public Radio show “At Issue with Ben Merens.” Though our topic was ostensibly the New Oxford American Dictionary’s choice of ‘locavore’ as Word of the Year, we soon ventured into other word-related matters, such as ‘O’.
Year In, Year Out
Anatoly divulges how seasons make up the year.
From “Nuclear Winter” to “Carbon Summer”
Ben Zimmer looks at the history of the word “carbon-summer.”
A Few Shining Examples
Anatoly looks at strong and weak past participles.
New Words on the Block: Back When “Movies” Were Young
Ben Zimmer looks at the origin of the word “movie.”