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Dog Eared
Words At Play
Wed Oct 08 00:00:00 EDT 2008
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Word Routes
Collins, Don't Exuviate That Word!
Tue Oct 07 00:00:00 EDT 2008
It's a dirty little secret of lexicography that for every new word or meaning that gets added to a revised edition of a dictionary, something usually has to come out. Only the mammoth Oxford English Dictionary has the luxury of never doing away with old entries. Smaller dictionaries are expected to introduce new words with every edition, but they're usually mum about what is removed to keep the published work to a reasonable size. Collins English Dictionary, on the other hand, is taking a novel approach by announcing old words that are on the chopping block, in order to see which words the public thinks should earn a stay of execution.
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Blog Du Jour
E-Book Blogs
Tue Oct 07 00:00:00 EDT 2008
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Evasive Maneuvers
Scooping Technicians and Horizontal Engineers... Under Dark Ethical Clouds
Mon Oct 06 00:00:00 EDT 2008
Mark Peters' first article for the Visual Thesaurus (" Euphemtastic!") was such a hit that we've decided to make him a regular contributor. Every month he'll be sharing some outrageous euphemisms from his personal collection.
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Word Routes
Mailbag Friday: "Funner" and "Funnest"
Fri Oct 03 00:00:00 EDT 2008
Jennifer A. of Concord, CA writes:
Recently, Apple launched some new products, including the new iPod Touch. According to the slide shown at the keynote presentation, this is the "funnest iPod ever." Ugh. I grew up with my parents correcting the use of funnest and funner so this is like fingernails on a chalkboard for me. Not only was the word used in the presentation, but it's right there on the Apple.com homepage too.
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Word Count
Does Texting Harm or Help Literacy?
Thu Oct 02 00:00:00 EDT 2008
We've been talking to David Crystal about his new book, Txtng: The Gr8 Db8. In the first and second parts of our interview, Crystal debunked the myths surrounding text messaging and considered how this new form of communication has brought with it new social expectations. Now in the third and final installment, he explains how text messaging can actually improve student literacy and also muses on the future of the electronic medium.
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Blog Excerpts
Greatest Villains
Thu Oct 02 00:00:00 EDT 2008
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Language Lounge
Reading Jane
Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2008
Anyone who has had the temerity to write about Jane Austen is aware of facts: first, that of all great writers she is the most difficult to catch in the act of greatness.
—Virginia Woolf
We are avid novel-readers in the Lounge and usually have a stack awaiting our attention, but occasionally we enjoy the luxury of browsing the library shelves with the question "What next?" in mind. In such cases we usually make a beeline for the 19th century, and once a year or so we find ourselves picking up one of the novels of Jane Austen.
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Dog Eared
Graphic Novels
Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2008
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Word Routes
On the Trail of "Bailing Out"
Tue Sep 30 00:00:00 EDT 2008
The latest headlines are dominated by news of the failure of the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a $700 billion "bailout" of the financial industry. As I explained on the Voice of America program " Wordmaster" last week, bailout in the financial sense, meaning the rescue of a bankrupt or near-bankrupt entity, is a figurative extension from the world of aviation. A pilot who needs to make an emergency landing bails out to safety. That part of the term's etymology is relatively clear, but figuring out its ultimate origin is a bit trickier.
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