Continuing our political theme this week, columnist Nancy Friedman takes a look at the buzzwords of the current campaign season. Her background in developing names and brands gives her a unique perspective into how new political coinages bubble to the surface.
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Word Routes
Exploring the pathways of our lexicon
That's Unconscionable, the Mayor Maintains
May 15, 2008
By Ben Zimmer
Mayor Bloomberg loves unconscionable, hates maintain.
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Part two of our interview with New York Times columnist William Safire about his Political Dictionary.
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Excerpts from Safire's Political Dictionary accompanying part two of our interview.
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Regret the Error surveys notices in the press correcting journalistic slip-ups — ranging from the hilarious to the alarming.
Want to brush up on the canon of great books? Get some guidance from those in the know!
The website Mental Floss, where "knowledge junkies get their fix" considers an eight word sentence with three parts of speech - and all the same word. Curious? Check it out here.
"Procrastination": Let's Not Shilly-Shally!
May 13, 2008
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Gleanings from the Political Word Maven
May 7, 2008
May 7, 2008
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April 9, 2008
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Actually Australians DO call it 9/11 - i guess 11/9 doesn't have the same ring.
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Put the VT to work in your classroom
What's Your Genus? Scientific Classification and the VT
April 23, 2008
In this lesson, students will learn about the fundamental system of scientific classification: binomial nomenclature. Teams of students will compete in a binomial name scavenger hunt using the Visual Thesaurus and the online "Catalogue of Life" to identify two-part binomial names within specific genus categories.
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Recent Lesson Plans:
Eating Right with a Little Help from the VT
March 24, 2008
Analyzing a Writer's Stance
February 18, 2008
It's Opposite Day
January 21, 2008
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Ready for this month's puzzle? Our theme for April is, well, "April Fools!" Have fun and good luck!
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Introducing our new design and a new column.
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Our Audio Pronunciations... And the Voices Behind Them
May 5, 2008
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Stylin', Profilin'
April 28, 2008
Announcing Our New Editor!
April 21, 2008
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