What Every beginning Dictionary Reader Should Know
Ammon Shea shares some advice for beginning dictionary readers.
The First Blogger
William Safire blogs about blogs.
Know Your Nonsense–A Lexical Guide to Horse Apples
Mark Peters looks at synonyms for “bullshit”.
Lotus – Podictionary Word of the Day
Welcome to podictionary. My name is Charles Hodgson For almost three years now I’ve been producing podictionary – the podcast for word lovers and I’m very pleased to now be able to bring a weekly episode to the OUPblog. Every Thursday I’ll be posting a word-of-the-day podcast here. There are two main differences between podictionary […]
Calling all tonguesters: Refresh your gossip with old words
Mark Peters guest blogs for Ben Zimmer.
This Day In History: Happy Birthday Tolkien
Happy birthday J.R.R. Tolkien!
Should “Decimate” be Annihilated?
Ben Zimmer looks at the word “decimate”.
Redefining the word “Human” – Do Some Apes Have Human Ancestors?
Aaron Filler looks at what makes humans- “human.”
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’.
The Past is Present
Morton Keller looks at our polarized political present in light of our past.
Facing AIDS In South Africa
An excerpt from Shattered Dreams?: An Oral History of the South African AIDS Epidemic.
When Spellcheckers Attack: Perils of the Cupertino Effect
Ben Zimmer looks at modern spellcheckers.
A Few Questions for Laura Pappano
Pappano talks about Playing With The Boys.
Dictionary Day is Coming…
We’re just five days away from Dictionary Day, the annual celebration of all things lexicographical held every 16th of October. Commemorating the anniversary of Noah Webster’s birth in 1758, it’s largely an opportunity for US school teachers to organize classroom activities encouraging students to build their dictionary skills and to exult in the joy of […]
Quizzes and Gigs
Anatoly delves into word history for our entertainment.
The Girl Whom You Think Lives Here Has Left
Language changes through variation. Some people ‘sneaked’, others ‘snuck’. The two forms may coexist for a long time, or one of them may be considered snobbish. Once the snobs die out, the form will go to rest with them. Or the snobs may feel embarrassed of being in the minority and ‘go popular’.