Topic : Word OriginsBehind the DictionaryLexicographers Talk About LanguageOf Snubs and Snobs March 16, 2015 By Neal Whitman
When the Academy Awards were given out last month, entertainment news was full of commentary about which movies, directors and performers should have been nominated but weren't—who got snubbed by those snobs in the Academy. That made me wonder if snub and snob were etymologically related.
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Article Topics:Word RoutesExploring the pathways of our lexiconCelebrating an Etymological "Carnival" March 9, 2015 By Ben Zimmer
On the latest installment of Slate's podcast Lexicon Valley, I look at the roots of the festive word carnival, associated with pre-Lenten celebrations around the Christian world. Some scholars speculate that the true origins of carnival actually lie in pagan rituals predating Christianity.
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Article Topics:Behind the DictionaryLexicographers Talk About LanguageGeeking Out On "Fleek" February 23, 2015 By Neal Whitman
Over the weekend, The New York Times presented an interactive quiz on newly prominent slang terms entitled "Are You On Fleek?" But what does "on fleek" mean, and how did it get to be such a trendy expression, especially on social media? Our resident linguist Neal Whitman investigates.
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The public radio show "On the Media" notes that "in the age of Snowden and Manning, the term 'whistleblower' is increasingly present in our media. But where exactly did the word come from?" Brooke Gladstone talked to our executive editor Ben Zimmer for some historical background.
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Article Topics:Word RoutesExploring the pathways of our lexiconA Far-Fetched Etymology That Seems a Little Cockamamie January 13, 2015 By Ben Zimmer
Etymology can take some peculiar turns as a word criss-crosses different cultures. For the latest installment of Slate's Lexicon Valley podcast, I take the hosts along on the journey of the word cockamamie, which might seem stranger than fiction.
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ESPN sportscaster Stuart Scott died of cancer over the weekend, and tributes to him have noted his ebullient use of slang, especially his signature word, "Booyah!" For Slate's Lexicon Valley blog, our own Ben Zimmer traces the origins of "Booyah!" back to a hip-hop imitation of gunfire. Read all about it here.
Article Topics:Word RoutesExploring the pathways of our lexiconA Story of "Grog" That Won't Leave You Groggy December 15, 2014 By Ben Zimmer
For my latest appearance on the Slate podcast Lexicon Valley, I take a look at a word with an origin story that seems too good to be true: grog, an alcoholic concoction, typically of rum and water, that has been making sailors groggy since the 18th century.
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