http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/?utm_source=rss Lexicographers Talk About Language Copyright 2010, Thinkmap Inc. All Rights Reserved. en Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/images/common/logo_on_white.gif http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/?utm_source=rss Search for a word in the Visual Thesaurus word http://www.visualthesaurus.com Behind the Dictionary http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/2193?utm_source=rss For National Grammar Day, linguist Neal Whitman takes a look at a long-standing source of contention among grammar enthusiasts: singular they. (Grammar purists, prepare yourselves for some unconventional rules!) Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/2193 Behind the Dictionary http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/2168?utm_source=rss Just in time for the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics, linguist Neal Whitman has been thinking about a phrase that seems to guarantee victory: win-win situation. What does this "no-lose" proposition really mean? Fri, 12 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/2168 Behind the Dictionary http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/2109?utm_source=rss We welcome back linguist Neal Whitman, who has noticed that many educators are fond of "choice" language, as in "He made good choices." Neal plumbs the history of this usage and talks to teachers and administrators about how the words "choose" and "choice" have shifted in recent years. Wed, 30 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/2109 Behind the Dictionary http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/2104?utm_source=rss Jan Freeman, language columnist for the Boston Globe, has published a fascinating new book: an expanded edition of Write It Right, Ambrose Bierce's 1909 volume on English usage, "deciphered, appraised, and annotated for 21st-century readers." We caught up with Jan to ask how Bierce's century-old language peeves have held up, and what his work tells us about current usage struggles. Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/2104 Behind the Dictionary http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/2099?utm_source=rss Fred R. Shapiro, the editor of The Yale Book of Quotations, is constantly on the lookout for new quotations that might make the cut for the next edition of his authoritative quotation dictionary. Below, find out what he thinks are the top ten quotations of 2009. Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/2099 Behind the Dictionary http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/2062?utm_source=rss Today is Veterans Day in the United States, and linguist Neal Whitman has been thinking about a question of military usage: if "50,000 troops" refers to 50,000 people, then does "one troop" refer to one person? Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/2062 Behind the Dictionary http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1997?utm_source=rss In part two of our interview with usage expert Bryan A. Garner, we talk about a new feature in the newly published third edition of his authoritative guide, Garner's Modern American Usage: the Language-Change Index, an innovative approach to evaluating how linguistic innovations spread and become accepted over time — for better or for worse. Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1997 Behind the Dictionary http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1990?utm_source=rss Today, September 18th, is Samuel Johnson's 300th birthday. The English essayist, poet, novelist, and witty conversationalist whom we know mostly through the anecdotes recorded by his friend and biographer, James Boswell, and his other friends, became famous in his day for his two-volume Dictionary of the English Language, published in 1755. Dennis Baron, professor of English and linguistics at the University of Illinois, wishes Dr. Johnson a happy birthday — and a happy birthnight. Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1990 Behind the Dictionary http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1988?utm_source=rss We've been talking to Bryan A. Garner about the new edition of Garner's Modern American Usage. Garner's book is not simply a compendium of do's and don't's: he also offers thoughtful essays advising writers on a wide variety of topics related to usage and style. Here we present Garner's essay on "Plain Language," a useful tonic to muddled and belabored prose. Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1988 Behind the Dictionary http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1986?utm_source=rss Bryan A. Garner wears many hats: he is a lawyer, a prolific lecturer, and an equally prolific author. Since 1995, he has been editor-in-chief of Black's Law Dictionary. He is also the author of Garner's Modern American Usage, a widely respected guide to contemporary usage that has just been published in its third edition. In this, the first of our two-part interview with Garner, we learn what it means to be an "informed prescriptivist," and why you should be wary of anyone who uses prior to instead of before. Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1986