Today's question for Mailbag Friday comes from our own puzzlemaster, Brendan Emmett Quigley, who's been watching a lot of football. "What gives with all these sportscasters saying 'Team A out-physicaled Team B'? Physical, last time I checked, is an adjective and not a verb, right?"

Brendan's question reminds me of a saying attributed to the great philosopher Calvin (the one from "Calvin and Hobbes," of course): "Verbing weirds language."  Continue reading...

Tonight (Thursday, October 23rd), the New York Public Library is hosting an event of particular interest to the Visual Thesaurus community. The always entertaining writer Roy Blount Jr. will be speaking about "Words: Their Roots, Bones, Innards, Piths, Pips, and Secret Parts," which is the subject of his new book, Alphabet Juice. Tickets for the event are still available, and the NYPL is offering free complimentary admission to all Visual Thesaurus subscribers! Full details below.  Continue reading...

Bill Brohaugh is the author of Everything You Know About English Is Wrong, and he has an enjoyable blog of the same name. He calls it "cantankerous commentary on what we speak and why we speak it."

Our old friend Orin Hargraves, who contributes our monthly Language Lounge feature, has a new book out called Slang Rules!: A Practical Guide for English Learners. We recently caught up with Orin to hear about how his book, a companion to Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's English Dictionary, illuminates the richness of American slang for a global audience of language learners.  Continue reading...

The "backstory" of the English language is endlessly fascinating. Here are some of our favorite tellings of the tale.

The Adventure of English

Inventing English

The Story of English

The Secret History of the English Language

Last week, American lexiphiles celebrated the 250th birthday of Noah Webster — or his semiquincentennial, if you want to be sesquipedalian about it. On the other side of the pond, British word lovers recently had their own Dictionary Day, on the 299th birthday of Samuel Johnson. (Mark your calendars now for the big Johnsonian blow-out of September 18, 2009, sure to be a rollicking tercentennial!)  Continue reading...

Here are some wonderful blogs about getting kids interested in literature.

The Well-Read Child

ShelfTalker

Scrub-a-Dub Tub

Kid Lit Kit