We've been talking to Paul Dickson about the new edition of his magnum opus, The Dickson Baseball Dictionary. Now, in honor of Major League Baseball's 80th All-Star Game, played tonight at Busch Stadium in Saint Louis, we present some all-star words from Dickson's dictionary.  Continue reading...

With this column we welcome Bob Greenman, author of Words That Make a Difference and More Words That Make a Difference, as a regular contributor to the Visual Thesaurus. Here Bob uses words from the latter book, with illustrative passages from The Atlantic Monthly, to muse on a great love of his life.  Continue reading...

After half a century of research, the monumental Dictionary of American Regional English is nearing completion. DARE chief editor Joan H. Hall recently talked to National Public Radio about the long, arduous journey of the dictionary, which will see its fifth and final volume published next year. As a "rantum scoot" into peculiar American speech, here are some sample regionalisms culled from DARE.  Continue reading...

As in past months, we've asked writer and educator Bob Greenman to pick some piquant words from More Words That Make a Difference, a delightful book illustrating word usage with passages from the Atlantic Monthly. Here Bob focuses on a "cousins club" of words that eviscerate the empty verbiage of others. Rest assured that Bob provides us with neither blather nor piffle.  Continue reading...

Once again we have asked writer and educator Bob Greenman to select some words to mull over from his latest guide to vocabulary enrichment, More Words That Make a Difference, co-authored with his wife Carol. The book illustrates word usage with passages from the Atlantic Monthly, and Bob takes a look here at words used by one of the Atlantic's most famous editors.  Continue reading...

Academy Award-winning producer and director Tony Bill has spent years collecting Hollywood argot on the sets of his films. Now he reveals this secret cinematic language in his new book, Movie Speak: How to Talk Like You Belong on a Film Set. Don't know the difference between a goofie and a gaffer? Read on!  Continue reading...

Bob Greenman, an award-winning writer, educator, and speaker, has written two outstanding guides to vocabulary enrichment: Words That Make a Difference and More Words That Make a Difference, with illustrative passages from the New York Times and the Atlantic Monthly, respectively. We asked Bob to pick some choice words from the second volume (co-authored with his wife, Carol), and he came up with a trio of words exposing the seamy underbelly of Old Hollywood.  Continue reading...