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  1. Dog Eared

     Literary Journalism Books
    Wed Feb 21 00:00:00 EST 2007

    We asked Deborah Campbell, the journalist we interview in this week's "Word Count" section, to recommend books by literary journalists. Here are her picks:

    Shah of Shahs by Ryszard Kapuscinski

    The Shadow of the Sun by Ryszard Kapuscinski

    The Soccer War by Ryszard Kapuscinski

    Opening Skinner's Box by Lauren Slater

  2. Word Routes

     Is Dr. Johnson Rolling in His Grave?
    Tue Oct 21 00:00:00 EDT 2008
    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!)

  3. Word Routes

     Pluto: Once a Planet, Now Merely a Plutoid
    Fri Jun 13 00:00:00 EDT 2008
    Two years ago, the International Astronomical Union voted to demote Pluto from planetary status, deciding that it was only a "dwarf planet." There was great uproar among fans of Pluto, even spawning a group calling themselves The Society for the Preservation of Pluto as a Planet. The IAU held firm to its decision, though, and moved on to other nomenclatural issues. A term was needed to encompass Pluto and all Pluto-like objects on the fringes of the solar system out beyond Neptune. This week the IAU finally came up with an official term: plutoid. It's not the prettiest word, but it does the trick.

  4. Backstory

     Andromeda Romano-Lax, Author of "The Spanish Bow"
    Fri Feb 22 00:00:00 EST 2008
    I kept hearing about joy, but what I saw was struggle. Doubt. Anguish. I heard praise, but even without looking, I stumbled upon notes of opposition that told -- just maybe -- a different story. The year was 2002 and I was in Puerto Rico on a research trip, watching archival footage of the famous Spanish cellist Pablo Casals.

  5. Language Lounge

     Pillow Talk and Its Ramifications
    Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2015
    Scientists have long been interested in the role that genetics plays over evolutionary time in the production of genetically distinct populations in all organisms. When the organism in question is homo sapiens, there's a new twist in the tale because people need to talk, and talk accompanies nearly everything that we do, including procreation.

  6. Word Count

     Word Tasting Note: "Floordrobe"
    Thu Jul 19 00:00:00 EDT 2012
    We welcome back James Harbeck for another installment of his "Word Tasting Notes." This time he mulls over a fanciful word that combines "floor" and "wardrobe" into a new droll creation: "floordrobe."

  7. Teachers at Work

     What's in a Name? Students Reveal Their Words
    Tue Jun 14 00:00:00 EDT 2011
    We welcome back Fitch O'Connell, a longtime teacher of English as a foreign language, working for the British Council in Portugal. Fitch reveals what happened when students in his classes were asked to select their favorite words.

  8. Word Count

     Does Your Writing Need a Little Background Music?
    Mon Aug 16 00:00:00 EDT 2010
    Years ago, after I'd graduated from grade 12 and moved on to higher learning — English 100 and Philosophy 120 — I discovered that my university had a recording library. Hallelujah! Sounds quaint now, I know, but this was more than a generation before iPods, and I was ridiculously excited about getting to hear music via headphones.

  9. Word Routes

     A Contretemps over Newspaper Vocabulary
    Wed Jun 25 00:00:00 EDT 2008
    The "Letters to the Editor" section of the Los Angeles Times has featured some heated discussion about what kind of vocabulary is suitable for printing in a newspaper. And no, this doesn't have anything to do with the "seven dirty words" famously satirized by the late lamented George Carlin. Instead, it's about some moderately challenging vocab items that you might expect to find on a Visual Thesaurus word list.

  10. Teachers at Work

     Don't Stop Inferrin': More Thoughts on Out-of-Context Vocab
    Mon Jun 21 00:00:00 EDT 2010
    Wow! What a response my last column received. Any time The Washington Post excerpts your work, you know you're on to something. My thoughts on teaching vocabulary out of literary context struck a chord with many readers, and I thought it would be beneficial for all if I answered a few questions and shared a few further thoughts this month.
115 116 117 118 119 Displaying 1161-1170 of 3460 Results