http://www.visualthesaurus.com?ad=rss The Visual Thesaurus Online Edition is a magazine available to Visual Thesaurus Subscribers about language, writing, and the creative process. The Visual Thesaurus is an online thesaurus and dictionary of over 145,000 words that you explore using an interactive map. Copyright 2010, Thinkmap Inc. All Rights Reserved. en Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/images/common/logo_on_white.gif http://www.visualthesaurus.com?ad=rss Search for a word in the Visual Thesaurus word http://www.visualthesaurus.com Word of the Day http://www.visualthesaurus.com?word=blandishment&utm_source=rss It seems odd that a word denoting one of the chief lubricants of civilization should be relatively infrequent, but there it is: blandishment is the art of persuasion via flattery, or a statement that attempts this. The ultimate root is Latin blandus, "bland, smooth." Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wd/1391 Word Count http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wc/2163?utm_source=rss Wendalyn Nichols, editor of the Copyediting newsletter, offers useful tips to copy editors and anyone else who prizes clear and orderly writing. Here she takes an extended look at the troublesome issue of when to hyphenate compounds. Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wc/2163 Teachers at Work http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/teachersatwork/2162?utm_source=rss Last month (http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/teachersatwork/2122/), I held forth on the art of getting your students — or, for that matter, yourself! — to write more. By now, you no doubt have sheaves of scrawl-covered loose-leaf sitting about. So, what's next? Editing and revising. Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/teachersatwork/2162 Blog Excerpts http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/blogexcerpts/2161?utm_source=rss On OUPblog, the official blog of Oxford University Press, sociolinguist Alexandra D'Arcy has kicked off a new column by penning an ode to her grandmother, "a firm advocate of correctness" who "in the proud tradition of language purists... found anything other than 'the standard' objectionable." Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/blogexcerpts/2161 Word Routes http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/2159?utm_source=rss After writing about "crash blossoms" in last Sunday's New York Times Magazine, I've gotten plenty of responses from readers sending in their own favorite examples of unintentionally ambiguous headlines. I've also been hearing more about an anecdote I mentioned, relating to a legendary telegram long attributed to Cary Grant. Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/2159 Evasive Maneuvers http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/2158?utm_source=rss I have to admit, I'm still basking in the glow of last month's American Dialect Society meeting, when my two picks for 2009's Most Euphemistic — hiking the Appalachian trail and sea kittens — each took home an award. Hiking killed it in the euph category, while the sea kittens swam over to "Most Unnecessary" and took the prize. Booyah, and may I add, for the benefit of older readers, huzzah! Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/evasive/2158 Word Routes http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/2157?utm_source=rss My latest On Language column in the New York Times Magazine is all about "crash blossoms," a new term for a phenomenon that people have been noting for decades: newspaper headlines that can be read in unintended ways (like "British Left Waffles on Falklands"). I've already received a plethora of emails from readers who wanted to share crash blossoms that they've collected over the years. Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/2157 Language Lounge http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/ll/2156?utm_source=rss "Look it up!" used to be a directive mainly about words in dictionaries; these days it's as likely to be about information on the Internet. A common experience in both cases is that you don't always find what you're looking for. This month in the Lounge we look at some of the overlapping reasons why. Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/ll/2156 Contest http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/contest/2153?utm_source=rss The weather outside might be frightful, but you can cozy up by the fire with our winter-themed crossword puzzle. Solve it and you could win a Visual Thesaurus T-shirt! Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/contest/2153 Blog Excerpts http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/blogexcerpts/2154?utm_source=rss The passing of the great J.D. Salinger has been met with an outpouring of online memorials. Newsweek: The Gospel According to Holden (http://www.newsweek.com/id/232748) The Rumpus: Jason Roberts Remembers (http://therumpus.net/2010/01/ason-roberts-remembers-j-d-salinger/) Barnes and Noble: In the Margin (http://bnreview.barnesandnoble.com/t5/In-the-Margin/J-D-Salinger-1919-2010/ba-p/2125) Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/blogexcerpts/2154 Department of Word Lists http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wl/2152?utm_source=rss Yesterday (http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wunderkind/2151/) we talked to seventh-grader Tony Incorvati of Canton Country Day School, who has competed in the Scripps National Spelling Bee for the last two years and is going for a three-peat. We asked Tony to share some of his favorite words. And try Tony's Community Spelling Bee (http://www.visualthesaurus.com/wordlists/24310) for some more tough words! Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wl/2152 Wunderkind http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wunderkind/2151?utm_source=rss A few months ago we interviewed sixth-grader Nicholas Rushlow (http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wunderkind/2018/) of Pickerington, Ohio, who participated in the Scripps National Spelling Bee the last two years, placing 17th last spring. We were pleased to hear that another Ohio student, seventh-grader Tony Incorvati of Canton Country Day School, has also made it to the Nationals twice and, like Nicholas, has been using the Visual Thesaurus Spelling Bee (http://www.visualthesaurus.com/bee) to study for this year's bee season. We talked to Tony and his mother Nancy Incorvati about how they've been preparing. Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wunderkind/2151 Blog Excerpts http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/blogexcerpts/2150?utm_source=rss Franklin P. Adams, a regular at the Algonquin Round Table in the 1920s and '30s, was a master of comic verse. His best-known work is no doubt "Baseball's Sad Lexicon," an ode to the Chicago Cubs double-play combination of "Tinker to Evers to Chance." The blog Futility Closet (http://www.futilitycloset.com/2010/01/20/to-a-thesaurus/) brings to our attention another playful ode by Adams that's right up our alley: "To a Thesaurus." Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/blogexcerpts/2150 Blog Excerpts http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/blogexcerpts/2149?utm_source=rss Combine sweet tooth with tooth fairy and you get sweet tooth fairy. That's the premise for The Illustrated Sweet Tooth Fairy, (http://www.the-illustrated-sweet-tooth-fairy.com/) a website that seeks to collect such whimsical fusions as magnetic personality disorder, periodic table manners, and emotional baggage carousel. Erin McKean describes the project in the Boston Globe here (http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/01/24/sweet_tooth_fairies/). Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/blogexcerpts/2149 Department of Word Lists http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wl/2148?utm_source=rss These memories of Manhattan in the summer of 1956 employ a number of words that appear in my book "More Words That Make a Difference," with illustrative sentences from the Atlantic Monthly. Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wl/2148 Word Routes http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/2147?utm_source=rss When google, a verb meaning "to search the Internet," was chosen by the American Dialect Society as Word of the Decade (2000-09), my ADS colleague Grant Barrett wondered whether Google's trademark lawyers might have preferred it if the runner-up, blog, had won instead. It is of course a tribute to the vast popularity of Google that it has become accepted as a generic verb for online searching, but the protectors of the trademark wouldn't necessarily see it that way. Meanwhile, Microsoft, creators of the rival search engine Bing, would very much like people to use their brand name as a verb. Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/2147 Word Count http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wc/2146?utm_source=rss Michael Lydon, a well-known writer on popular music since the 1960s, has for many years also been writing about writing. Lydon's essays, written with a colloquial clarity, shed fresh light on familiar and not so familiar aspects of the writing art. Here Lydon explores how metaphors have the power to "fuse fact and fancy." Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wc/2146 Word Routes http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/2145?utm_source=rss When the New Oxford American Dictionary selected unfriend as its 2009 Word of the Year, Oxford University Press senior lexicographer Christine Lindberg was quick to point out that the verb long predates the Facebook era. As she explained in an NPR interview, the Oxford English Dictionary has a citation for unfriend from 1659. "I think it's a remarkable resurrection," Lindberg told NPR. "In a way, I look at unfriend as the Sleeping Beauty of 2009 words." Now it appears that the Dutch language has its own Sleeping Beauty... or should that be Rip Van Winkle? Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/2145 Teachers at Work http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/teachersatwork/2144?utm_source=rss To get across the importance of grammatical rules to her students, writing teacher Margaret Hundley Parker finds that a common-sense approach works best. Here Margaret gives examples of how unclear writing style reflects unclear thinking. Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/teachersatwork/2144 Word Count http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wc/2127?utm_source=rss Wendalyn Nichols, editor of the Copyediting newsletter, offers useful tips to copy editors and anyone else who prizes clear and orderly writing. Here she takes a look at the predilection of headline-writers for the word likely. Fri, 15 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wc/2127 Candlepower http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/candlepwr/2125?utm_source=rss Neal Whitman's recent column (http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/2109) on the language of "choice" in education ("Make good choices!") got me thinking about how choice and choose are used in marketing. From the flight attendant's cheery "We know you have a choice when you fly — thanks for choosing us!" to IKEA's "Choose your own entertainment adventure," we're constantly encouraged to select from an array of options. But what does all that choice mean? Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/candlepwr/2125 Blog Excerpts http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/blogexcerpts/2126?utm_source=rss Have you heard that "the average teenager uses just 800 words in daily communication"? Despite being widely reported in the media, this factoid simply isn't true. Linguist David Crystal debunks the myth here (http://david-crystal.blogspot.com/2010/01/on-800-word-myth.html). Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/blogexcerpts/2126 Word Routes http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/2124?utm_source=rss In the newest chapter of the late-night television wars, "Tonight Show" host Conan O'Brien has announced that he won't go along with NBC's plan to bump his show to a midnight time slot to make way for Jay Leno at 11:30. After O'Brien made his announcement, he was the recipient of an immediate outpouring of support online. Thousands joined the Team Conan (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=242166564197) Facebook group, while thousands more expressed their allegiance on Twitter using the #TeamConan (http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23teamconan) hashtag. Where did all this "Team" talk come from? Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/2124 Word Count http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wc/2123?utm_source=rss It was a cold and rainy winter evening. My husband and I drove downtown, found parking and then ran through the raindrops to find the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). Once inside, we were guided to a surprisingly large and airy studio and settled down in chairs with about 100 others. Moments later, host Sheryl Mackay and guest Rob Kapilow walked in. Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wc/2123 Teachers at Work http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/teachersatwork/2122?utm_source=rss After "How can you possibly stand being around so many kids all day long?" and "Why do you look so tired all the time?", the question I get asked most often is "How do you get your students to write?" Mon, 11 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/teachersatwork/2122 Word Routes http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/2121?utm_source=rss After much good-natured debate at its annual meeting in Baltimore, the American Dialect Society has made its selections for Word of the Year and Word of the Decade. As proof that we're truly living in a digital age, the winner of Word of the Year for 2009 was tweet ("to post an update on Twitter") and the Word of the Decade for 2000-09 was google (the generic verb meaning "to use Google or another search engine"). Sat, 09 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/2121