Some words that have fallen into disuse are due for a revival. Recently, the blog Jezebel compiled "18 uncommon or obsolete words that we think may have died early," including curglaff ("the shock felt in bathing when one first plunges into the cold water") and resistentialism (the seemingly spiteful behavior shown by inanimate objects). Check out the complete list here.

Earlier this week, an article in the Guardian reported that "an eminent former editor of the Oxford English Dictionary covertly deleted thousands of words because of their foreign origins and bizarrely blamed previous editors." But it turns out that this seemingly sensational story is "completely bogus," according to OED editor at large Jesse Sheidlower. Read Sheidlower's explanation on The New Yorker's Culture Desk blog here. (Update, 12/3: Our own Ben Zimmer has a column about the pseudo-controversy on the New York Times op/ed page.)

For months now, copywriter/illustrator Ted McCagg has been holding a "Best Word Ever" competition on his blog, pairing off words in single-elimination showdowns. Winners have been whimsically selected in different brackets, ultimately leading to a final round pitting gherkin against diphthong. And now diphthong has emerged victorious. For more on the curious word, see Neal Whitman's column, "Oy, You Diphthong!"

Word Routes, the regular column by Visual Thesaurus editor Ben Zimmer, was selected as one of the top 100 Language Lovers of 2012, and one of the top 20 Language Professional blogs, in a worldwide competition hosted by bab.la and Lexiophiles. Language blogs and sites were nominated and then ranked according to user votes and other criteria. Check out the whole list here.

Ben Trawick-Smith is an actor with a deep interest in English dialects. On his Dialect Blog, he takes on a range of interesting linguistic issues. His latest post is perfect for the new year: it's all about the song that we butcher every New Year's Eve, "Auld Lang Syne." Get enlightened about the Scottish tune here.

October 20 is the National Day on Writing, an annual celebration of all things writerly. You can take part in the festivities on Twitter by using the hashtag #whyIwrite. For more information see this post from Katherine Schulten of the New York Times Learning Network, one of the sponsors of this year's event.