contributorOrin Hargraves
Orin Hargraves is an independent lexicographer and contributor to numerous dictionaries published in the US, the UK, and Europe. He is also the author of Mighty Fine Words and Smashing Expressions (Oxford), the definitive guide to British and American differences, and Slang Rules! (Merriam-Webster), a practical guide for English learners. In addition to writing the Language Lounge column, Orin also writes for the Macmillan Dictionary Blog. Click here to visit his website.Language LoungeA Monthly Column for Word LoversDubiously Distinguished  January 1, 2020
We are now far beyond the day when a product might be distinguished from its competitors with descriptors such as mild, strong, or rich. Lately I'm noticing what is surely a very common trope in consumer marketing: the enhancement of an adjectival descriptor for a product by introducing it with an adverbial.
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The famed copy editor's personal memoir is a joy to read and an inspiration to anyone who has toyed with the idea, but not yet taken the plunge, of learning a second language.
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Language LoungeA Monthly Column for Word LoversAnd Forget the He and She December 2, 2019
John Donne's poem The Undertaking, published in the early 17th century, suggests that forgetting the he and she would be "a braver thing than all the Worthies did." In a way, that is the same problem that's currently being considered in a case before the U.S. Supreme Court.
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Article Topics:Language LoungeA Monthly Column for Word LoversComparative Nonsense November 1, 2019
It's time to dive headfirst into that confoundingest of subjects: the formation of comparatives and superlatives.
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Article Topics:Language LoungeA Monthly Column for Word LoversLips That Touch Liquor October 2, 2019 By Orin Hargraves
October marks the centenary of the Volstead Act, the enabler of Prohibition. This occasion licenses the Language Lounge to pop the corks a bit early and look at the linguistic legacy of the Prohibition era.
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A valuable new tool has become available for linguists — armchair and professional alike — to explore the language of contemporary news.
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Article Topics:Language LoungeA Monthly Column for Word LoversThe Notional Space of the Digital World August 1, 2019 By Orin Hargraves
Metaphors about space come at us so thick and fast in talking about the digital world that we don't even notice that they are there, and that's probably a good thing: it helps us to make sense of complicated phenomena.
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