http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/?utm_source=rss Lexicographers Talk About Language Copyright 2009, Thinkmap Inc. All Rights Reserved. en Wed, 11 Nov 2009 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/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 Behind the Dictionary http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1972?utm_source=rss Just in time for the beginning of the school year, linguist Neal Whitman investigates how "back to school" got transformed from a prepositional phrase to a noun phrase. It's time for back to school! With Labor Day just around the corner, back to school is days away for many students across the nation, and for many others it has already come. Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1972 Behind the Dictionary http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1950?utm_source=rss Earlier this week we spoke to Stephen Dodson, co-author of Uglier than a Monkey's Armpit, a compendium of curses and insults from around the world. By way of introduction to this lively and engaging book, here is a (lightly expurgated!) letter to readers from Stephen, musing on the boundless creativity of the "gems of abuse" he has collected. Thu, 13 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1950 Behind the Dictionary http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1947?utm_source=rss Want to insult someone in Japanese? Try misokakku ('scum of soya paste'). In Polish, try motyla noga ('butterfly's leg'), and in Turkish, muhallebi çocuğu ('child of pudding'). These and hundreds of other colorful put-downs from around the world can be found in the delightful new book, Uglier Than a Monkey's Armpit (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0399535063?ie=UTF8&tag=thevisualthes-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0399535063) by Stephen Dodson and Dr. Robert Vanderplank. We spoke about the book with Dodson, known to many language lovers by his nom de blog, Languagehat (http://www.languagehat.com/). Tue, 11 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1947 Behind the Dictionary http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1925?utm_source=rss Last week, in part one (http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1914/) of our interview with author Paul Dickson, we talked about the work that went into the new edition of his Dickson Baseball Dictionary — a thousand-page monument to baseball's bottomless linguistic riches. Now in part two, Dickson discusses the diverse influences on the language of baseball, and how the sport has become a metaphorical source in politics and elsewhere. Wed, 22 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1925 Behind the Dictionary http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1914?utm_source=rss As Major League Baseball heads into the All-Star break, we're taking advantage of the mid-season breather to think about the rich language of baseball. We talked to Paul Dickson, the sport's great lexicographer, about the monumental Dickson Baseball Dictionary. Recently published in its third edition, the dictionary has grown into a thousand-page tome of unprecedented breadth and scope. In the first part of our two-part interview, Dickson explains how his dictionary encompasses the whole history of baseball, from the early days of "protoball" to the latest statistical advances. Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1914