http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/?utm_source=rss Exploring the pathways of our lexicon Copyright 2008, Thinkmap Inc. All Rights Reserved. en Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/images/common/logo_on_white.gif http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/?utm_source=rss Search for a word in the Visual Thesaurus word http://www.visualthesaurus.com Word Routes http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/1552?utm_source=rss It's a dirty little secret of lexicography that for every new word or meaning that gets added to a revised edition of a dictionary, something usually has to come out. Only the mammoth Oxford English Dictionary has the luxury of never doing away with old entries. Smaller dictionaries are expected to introduce new words (http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1495/) with every edition, but they're usually mum about what is removed to keep the published work to a reasonable size. Collins English Dictionary (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0007228996?ie=UTF8&tag=thevisualthes-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0007228996), on the other hand, is taking a novel approach by announcing old words that are on the chopping block, in order to see which words the public thinks should earn a stay of execution. Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/1552 Word Routes http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/1550?utm_source=rss Jennifer A. of Concord, CA writes: Recently, Apple launched some new products, including the new iPod Touch. According to the slide (http://media.arstechnica.com/journals/apple.media/letsrockipods7.jpg) shown at the keynote presentation, this is the "funnest iPod ever." Ugh. I grew up with my parents correcting the use of funnest and funner so this is like fingernails on a chalkboard for me. Not only was the word used in the presentation, but it's right there on the Apple.com homepage (http://www.apple.com/) too. Fri, 03 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/1550 Word Routes http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/1544?utm_source=rss The latest headlines are dominated by news of the failure of the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a $700 billion "bailout" of the financial industry. As I explained on the Voice of America program "Wordmaster (http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/Wordmaster/2008-09-23-voa4.cfm)" last week, bailout in the financial sense, meaning the rescue of a bankrupt or near-bankrupt entity, is a figurative extension from the world of aviation. A pilot who needs to make an emergency landing bails out to safety. That part of the term's etymology is relatively clear, but figuring out its ultimate origin is a bit trickier. Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/1544 Word Routes http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/1540?utm_source=rss In a recent interview (http://voanews.com/specialenglish/Wordmaster/2008-09-23-voa2.cfm) on the Voice of America radio program Wordmaster (a show that seeks to explain the vagaries of American English to an international audience), I was asked about a number of terms relating to the U.S. presidential campaign. We talked about red states (leaning Republican), blue states (leaning Democratic), and purple states (somewhere in between), a topic I discussed on Word Routes (http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/1430/) after the untimely passing of Tim Russert, who helped to popularize the terms in the 2000 election. But we also covered some earlier American expressions to describe "toss-up" states that predate the red/blue/purple color scheme: battleground states and swing states. Here's some extra historical background that I wasn't able to include in the brief interview. Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/1540 Word Routes http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/1536?utm_source=rss Yesterday (http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/candlepwr/1535/) we heard from contributors Simon Glickman and Julia Rubiner (http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/contributors/9) about a pattern they identify as an "epidemic": using the word myself in place of a plain old personal pronoun like I or me. They were disheartened to see Merriam-Webster (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/myself)'s treatment of this use of myself as no big deal, writing, "Don't you hate it when something you were so sure was absolutely wrong is reduced to the status of pet peeve?" I wanted to flesh out the myself story, since it's been a point of contention for generations of grammarians and usage mavens. Tue, 23 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/1536 Word Routes http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/1534?utm_source=rss VT subscriber Kcecelia (http://www.visualthesaurus.com/profiles/B0BAW26858KSK8) of San Francisco, CA writes in about yesterday's Visual Thesaurus Word of the Day: dude (http://www.visualthesaurus.com/portlets/wod/?y=2008&m=9&d=18&mode=d). She observes that the word's current usage has little to do with its more historical sense, "a man who is much concerned with his dress and appearance": Last month a 20-something man in an Oregon gas station punctuated his conversation with me with references to me as dude. I am a 55-year-old woman. Also, people say duuuude as an exclamation or interjection. I sometimes say dude myself in a more joking manner to people I am with who are sprinkling it liberally into their conversation. I do not mean that they are a fop or a dandy. Especially now that Todd Palin, husband of Gov. Sarah Palin, is in the news as Alaska's "First Dude (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/03/us/politics/03todd.html)," this is a good time to reflect on the peculiar history of this all-American word. Fri, 19 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/1534 Word Routes http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/1529?utm_source=rss As news from the financial world gets bleaker and bleaker, two scapegoats have emerged in the ongoing credit crunch: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Here's a sampling of headlines from the Wall Street Journal opinion page (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121599777668249845.html?mod=Commentary-US): "Fannie Mayhem," "Fannie and Freddie's Enablers," "Frantic Fannie," "Fannie Mae Ugly," "Freddie Krueger Mac." Someone unfamiliar with the American economic system might think that Fannie and Freddie are the new Bonnie and Clyde (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonnie_and_Clyde), shooting up banks with reckless abandon. How did the crisis in the banking sector get so personal? Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/1529 Word Routes http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/1526?utm_source=rss The latest political kerfuffle revolves around an expression Barack Obama used at a campaign event on Tuesday: "You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig." Putting aside the accusation from John McCain's camp that this had something to do with vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin, the saying has a fascinating historical background, and I had a chance to delve into this history for Slate's "Explainer" (http://www.slate.com/id/2199805/). Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/1526 Word Routes http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/1523?utm_source=rss The 11th edition of the venerable yet idiosyncratic Chambers Dictionary has just been published. Unlike the 11th editions of its lexicographical rivals Merriam-Webster's Collegiate (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0877798087?ie=UTF8&tag=thevisualthes-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0877798087) and the Concise Oxford (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0199548412?ie=UTF8&tag=thevisualthes-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0199548412) (everybody's going to 11 these days), the big news surrounding the latest Chambers is not about its new words (http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/1452/). Rather, the British press has focused on some remarks made in the introduction to the dictionary, written by Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman. Paxman evidently likes to poke fun at all things Scottish, but he stepped over the line when he referred to the work of Robert Burns, Scotland's national poet, as nothing more than "sentimental doggerel." Tue, 09 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/1523 Word Routes http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/1518?utm_source=rss For today's Mailbag Friday, we hear from Barbara Z. of Norfolk, VA. She writes: "On the radio I was listening to the beginning of "The Thomas Jefferson Hour (http://www.jeffersonhour.org/)" in which Clay Jenkinson speaks as if he were Jefferson. I heard him say the following: 'I happen to live in the first great era when books were widespreadly available...' "Widespreadly? That one is new to me!" Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/1518