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  1. Book Nook

     Words as Gateways
    Mon Aug 10 00:00:00 EDT 2009
    In this opening chapter of Vocabulary at the Center, veteran teachers Amy Benjamin and John T. Crow explain how words can function as "gateways" to student knowledge and academic achievement.

  2. Candlepower

     We Speak Brandish. Do You?
    Mon Aug 10 00:00:00 EDT 2009
    The minimalist billboard gets our attention: black capital letters against a stark white background. But the words spelled out by those letters are cryptic: SWORE RAY. Swore Ray? Ray swore? What did he say? And what do his profanities have to do with the advertiser, the Monte Carlo resort and casino in Las Vegas?

  3. Word Routes

     "Fail" for the Win!
    Fri Aug 07 00:00:00 EDT 2009
    In this weekend's New York Times Magazine, I'm the guest writer for the "On Language" column while William Safire is on vacation. I use my pinch-hitting spot to look at recent developments with the word fail, which in online usage has transformed from a verb to an interjection and a noun (and even sometimes an adjective). But truth be told, fail is only the most prominent example of a much wider phenomenon, with a whole series of expressive words getting similar treatment.

  4. Blog Excerpts

     Olbermann Salutes Ben Zimmer
    Thu Aug 06 00:00:00 EDT 2009
    For his debunking of the myth that Swedish and Dutch news anchors are called "Cronkiters," Visual Thesaurus executive producer Ben Zimmer was named "second best person in the world" on Keith Olbermann's MSNBC show "Countdown." Watch the video here!

  5. Word Count

     A Nasty Bit of Corporate Speak
    Thu Aug 06 00:00:00 EDT 2009
    Wendalyn Nichols, editor of the Copyediting newsletter, offers useful tips to copy editors and anyone else who prizes clear and orderly writing. Here she takes aim at "corporate speak" at its most infuriating.

  6. Evasive Maneuvers

     Necessary Redundancy Turkeys and Other Waste in Space
    Wed Aug 05 00:00:00 EDT 2009

    In this month's Evasive Maneuvers column, our master of euphemisms tackles food and the consequences of food — on earth and in the cosmos.

    Recently, aboard the International Space Station, a crisis struck!

  7. Word Routes

     Word Power, People Power: English and the Philippines
    Tue Aug 04 00:00:00 EDT 2009
    The recent death of Corazon Aquino has stirred memories of her shining moment in 1986, when she became President of the Philippines after a series of protests against the oppressive Marcos regime. The uprising was known both inside and outside of the Philippines as "People Power." The use of an English phrase for such a pivotal moment in national history is a reminder of just how important the English language has been to the Philippines since the advent of U.S. colonialism there more than a century ago. And the Philippines, in turn, has had an impact on English as spoken in other countries.

  8. Language Lounge

     Design, Then and Now
    Mon Aug 03 00:00:00 EDT 2009
    In high school we studied a poem by Robert Frost called "Design." It deposited enduring fragments that echo in our mind from time to time, and recently we spent a quiet afternoon in the Poetry Corner of the Lounge to revisit the poem.

  9. Blog Excerpts

     More on the Myth of "Cronkiters"
    Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 2009
    In his latest Word Routes column, Visual Thesaurus editor Ben Zimmer looked into an anecdote widely reported in the obituaries of Walter Cronkite: that in Sweden (or Holland) news anchors are known as "Cronkiters" (or "Kronkiters"). You can hear Ben talk more about the "Cronkiters" legend on the NPR program "On The Media," airing this weekend. Check your local radio listings for air times, or listen online here.

  10. Contest

     The Visual Thesaurus Crossword Puzzle: July Edition
    Fri Jul 31 00:00:00 EDT 2009
    In the July edition of the Visual Thesaurus crossword puzzle, we're cooling off in the movie theater. Figure out the hidden word chain and you could win a Visual Thesaurus T-shirt!
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