http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/blogexcerpts/?utm_source=rss Copyright 2009, Thinkmap Inc. All Rights Reserved. en Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/images/common/logo_on_white.gif http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/blogexcerpts/?utm_source=rss Search for a word in the Visual Thesaurus word http://www.visualthesaurus.com Blog Excerpts http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/blogexcerpts/2069?utm_source=rss Software engineer Rudi Seitz has set up a fun challenge he calls Quadrivial Quandary: "Each day we present four words from our favorite dictionary sites. Your challenge is to use them all in a sentence that illustrates their meanings." Join in the logophilia here (http://www.quadrivialquandary.com/). Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/blogexcerpts/2069 Blog Excerpts http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/blogexcerpts/2066?utm_source=rss Twitter is becoming a great haven for wordplay. Check out the creativity on display in tweets marked with the hashtag #collectivenouns (http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23collectivenouns): "a knot of string theorists," "a sneer of critics," "a wunch of bankers," "a seemingly empty room of ninjas." The website All Sorts (http://all-sorts.org/) is collecting the results of this collective online experiment. Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/blogexcerpts/2066 Blog Excerpts http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/blogexcerpts/2052?utm_source=rss Exploring a topic discussed here back in April (http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/1819/), the British linguist John Wells considers how people are forming the past tense of the verb "to text" (often pronounced, like the present tense, as "text"). Read about it on Dr. Wells's phonetics blog here (http://phonetic-blog.blogspot.com/2009/10/texting.html). Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/blogexcerpts/2052 Blog Excerpts http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/blogexcerpts/2047?utm_source=rss National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is just around the corner. As the website explains, "Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30. NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved." Visit the NaNoWriMo website (http://www.nanowrimo.org/) to learn more. Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/blogexcerpts/2047 Blog Excerpts http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/blogexcerpts/2039?utm_source=rss From the blogosphere comes news that President Obama's name has become an eponym, but not in English. In Japanese, Obama has transformed into obamu — a verb that means, according to one blogger, "to ignore inexpedient and inconvenient facts or realities." Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/blogexcerpts/2039 Blog Excerpts http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/blogexcerpts/2036?utm_source=rss In the Boston Globe, lexicographer Erin McKean makes a compelling case for turning Dictionary Day (Noah Webster's birthday on October 16th) into a national holiday. Read her column here (http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/10/18/the_word_the_case_for_dictionary_day/). Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/blogexcerpts/2036 Blog Excerpts http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/blogexcerpts/2019?utm_source=rss Stanford linguist Dan Jurafsky has launched a fascinating new blog called The Language of Food. So far he's posted meticulous studies of the words entrée, ketchup, and dessert. Check it out here (http://languageoffood.blogspot.com/). Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/blogexcerpts/2019 Blog Excerpts http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/blogexcerpts/2012?utm_source=rss What's a dingenuity? It's "A dinner made from the most random of ingredients." And a Snaab? That's "A snob who is obsessed with his Saab," of course. Read more hilariously inventive blends on A Daily Portmanteau (http://dailyportmanteau.blogspot.com/). Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/blogexcerpts/2012 Blog Excerpts http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/blogexcerpts/2005?utm_source=rss Tributes continue to pour in for the late great William Safire and his thirty-year run as New York Times Magazine language columnist. The latest come from Visual Thesaurus contributor Mark Peters in GOOD Magazine (http://www.good.is/post/on-william-safire/) and from former Safire research assistant Aaron Britt in Newsweek (http://www.newsweek.com/id/216476). Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/blogexcerpts/2005 Blog Excerpts http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/blogexcerpts/2001?utm_source=rss Linguistically oriented bloggers reflect on the passing of "On Language" columnist William Safire. The Lexicographer's Rules (http://www.doubletongued.org/index.php/grantbarrett/remembering_william_safire/) Languagehat (http://www.languagehat.com/archives/003636.php) Wordorigins.org (http://www.wordorigins.org/index.php/site/comments/william_safire_dies_at_age_79/) Wishydig (http://wishydig.blogspot.com/2009/09/safire-remembered.html) Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/blogexcerpts/2001