http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wl/?utm_source=rss Copyright 2009, Thinkmap Inc. All Rights Reserved. en Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/images/common/logo_on_white.gif http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wl/?utm_source=rss Search for a word in the Visual Thesaurus word http://www.visualthesaurus.com Department of Word Lists http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wl/1900?utm_source=rss With this column we welcome Bob Greenman, author of Words That Make a Difference (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1929154054?ie=UTF8&tag=thevisualthes-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1929154054) and More Words That Make a Difference (http://www.levenger.com/PAGETEMPLATES/PRODUCT/Product.asp?Params=Category=14|Level=2|pageid=5795), as a regular contributor to the Visual Thesaurus. Here Bob uses words from the latter book, with illustrative passages from The Atlantic Monthly, to muse on a great love of his life. Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wl/1900 Department of Word Lists http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wl/1889?utm_source=rss After half a century of research, the monumental Dictionary of American Regional English (http://dare.wisc.edu/) is nearing completion. DARE chief editor Joan H. Hall recently talked to National Public Radio (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105134163) about the long, arduous journey of the dictionary, which will see its fifth and final volume published next year. As a "rantum scoot" into peculiar American speech, here are some sample regionalisms culled from DARE. Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wl/1889 Department of Word Lists http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wl/1865?utm_source=rss As in past (http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wl/1775/) months (http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wl/1826/), we've asked writer and educator Bob Greenman to pick some piquant words from More Words That Make a Difference, a delightful book illustrating word usage with passages from the Atlantic Monthly. Here Bob focuses on a "cousins club" of words that eviscerate the empty verbiage of others. Rest assured that Bob provides us with neither blather nor piffle. Wed, 27 May 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wl/1865 Department of Word Lists http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wl/1826?utm_source=rss Once again we have asked writer and educator Bob Greenman to select some words to mull over from his latest guide to vocabulary enrichment, More Words That Make a Difference (http://www.levenger.com/PAGETEMPLATES/PRODUCT/Product.asp?Params=Category=14|Level=2|pageid=5795), co-authored with his wife Carol. The book illustrates word usage with passages from the Atlantic Monthly, and Bob takes a look here at words used by one of the Atlantic's most famous editors. Wed, 22 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wl/1826 Department of Word Lists http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wl/1801?utm_source=rss Academy Award-winning producer and director Tony Bill has spent years collecting Hollywood argot on the sets of his films. Now he reveals this secret cinematic language in his new book, Movie Speak: How to Talk Like You Belong on a Film Set (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0761143599?ie=UTF8&tag=thevisualthes-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0761143599). Don't know the difference between a goofie and a gaffer? Read on! Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wl/1801 Department of Word Lists http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wl/1775?utm_source=rss Bob Greenman, an award-winning writer, educator, and speaker, has written two outstanding guides to vocabulary enrichment: Words That Make a Difference (http://www.levenger.com/PAGETEMPLATES/PRODUCT/Product.asp?Params=Category=14|Level=2|pageid=137) and More Words That Make a Difference (http://www.levenger.com/PAGETEMPLATES/PRODUCT/Product.asp?Params=Category=14|Level=2|pageid=5795), with illustrative passages from the New York Times and the Atlantic Monthly, respectively. We asked Bob to pick some choice words from the second volume (co-authored with his wife, Carol), and he came up with a trio of words exposing the seamy underbelly of Old Hollywood. Wed, 18 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wl/1775 Department of Word Lists http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wl/1393?utm_source=rss Part two (http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1392/) of our interview with William Safire (http://www.nytimes.com/ref/opinion/SAFIRE-BIO.html) focuses on new political terms that have entered the latest edition of Safire's Political Dictionary (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195340612?ie=UTF8&tag=thevisualthes-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0195340612). Below, for your delectation, you'll find extended excerpts from relevant dictionary entries. Wed, 14 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wl/1393 Department of Word Lists http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wl/1388?utm_source=rss To supplement our two-part interview (http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1389/) with William Safire (http://www.nytimes.com/ref/opinion/SAFIRE-BIO.html) about the new edition of Safire's Political Dictionary (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195340612?ie=UTF8&tag=thevisualthes-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0195340612), we've provided extended excerpts from the dictionary entries that came up in the course of our wide-ranging discussion. If you want to know the difference between an old pro and a curmudgeon, read on! Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wl/1388 Department of Word Lists http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wl/1194?utm_source=rss Chef Terrance Brennan (http://www.artisanalcheese.com/prodinfo.asp?number=NP6001) is the founder of Artisanal Premium Cheese (http://www.artisanalcheese.com/), a company that practices the fine art of affinage -- the age-old craft of maturing and aging cheese to achieve peak flavor. He's also something of a cheese revolutionary -- a chef who's helped Americans discover and appreciate the sublime magic of handcrafted artisanal cheese (we'll get to that word in a minute). What better person to ask about cheese words? Paste. "The body within the rind of the cheese, what the French call the 'pate.' In other words, the interior of the cheese." Farmstead. "Cheese milked and produced from the same farm." Fri, 16 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wl/1194 Department of Word Lists http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wl/1055?utm_source=rss "Baseball has had a phenomenal influence on the English language," says writer and lexicographer Paul Dickson (http://pauldicksonbooks.com/). Paul should know. As the author of The Hidden Language of Baseball (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0802777198?ie=UTF8&tag=thevisualthes-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0802777198) and The New Dickson Baseball Dictionary (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0156005808?ie=UTF8&tag=thevisualthes-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0156005808) (and over 40 other books!), he's studied the impact of America's favorite pastime on English for the past three decades. Paul graciously shared some examples of baseball lingo that's now part of everyday speech. Designated hitter. "This is a strange construction in English, 'designated 'x'' but it gave birth to the term 'designated driver.'" Hit-and-run. "A baseball play that's been around since the 19th century. When the automobile arrived, all of a sudden the phrase also meant 'a hit-and-run accident.'" Sat, 15 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wl/1055