Precocious and Profane
Ammon Shea recalls a word from his childhood.
Architecting a Verb?
Last Sunday, in the NY Times, I read a book reviewer taking an author to task for her word use. The reviewer stated that “the last time I checked the American Heritage Dictionary, in spite of how computer trade journalists might choose to use the word, “architect” was not recognized as a verb”.
Keeping Notes
Ammon reflects on note-taking.
The Merriams and the Madman
Ammon Shea looks at Merriam’s madman.
Ammon’s Favorite Words, This Week
Several months ago, John McGrath of Wordie interviewed me for this blog. He asked me about my favorite words that I had come across in reading the OED and I gave him a list of what they were at the time. But words can be capricious things, and the ones of which I am fondest are constantly changing.
An Excerpt From Reading The OED
An excerpt from Ammon Shea’s Reading The OED.
To Bailout, or Not
Ammon Shea ponders the word “bailout”.
Hardcore Dictionaries
Ammon Shea wonders what makes a dictionary “hardcore”.
A Celebration of Making Old “Make” New
Ammon Shea looks at the word “make.”
An Affair With Petrichor
Noa Wheeler responds to Ammon Shea’s column on Petrichor.
BEA Dispatch
Purdy, Director of Publicity, is in LA this weekend at Book Expo America. He will be reporting from the action for those of us left in NYC. Live from the convention floor of BEA in LA. For those not in the know BEA stands for Book Expo America, the largest convention of publishers, media, bookstore […]
Waiting for Petrichor
Ammon Shea, an expert dictionary reader, reflects on rain.
Words Out of Context
Ammon Shea explains an alternative use for dictionaries.
Bloomberg and “Maintain”
Ammon, an expert dictionary reader, ponders Mayor Bloomberg’s dislike of the word “maintain”.
Wasting Time and Having Fun With OED Searches.
Ammon Shea on reading the OED.
Samuel Johnson and the First English Dictionary
Ammon Shea wonders who wrote the first English dictionary.