One more kwoi
“Sequoia,” in a 1943 dictionary.
New directions in footwear
Kids say the darndest things: my Merrell Moab Adventure 3 shoes have been renamed “jungle shoes.”
macOS Something
How to pronounce “sequoia”?
Bodega
A word and its history.
Recently updated
Now I think I understand what “gentleman shirts” are.
New directions in apparel
“Papa’s gentleman shirts.”
What is a “bottle episode”?
I asked those who would know if there’s a name for a television episode with two characters stuck in, say, an elevator or a basement, talking about whatever until they get free. There is, and Merriam-Webster has it.
Word of the day: oaktag
What it is, and where the word comes from.
Orange Crate Art
“The race has ALL-red started!” “All right all-RED!”
Butter No Parsnips
An excellent podcast series for those who like words and rabbit holes.
Wordle STARR
A typo that ought not to count as a word.
“Meticulous,” “commendable,” “intricate”
Using AI to write peer reviews.
Connecting dots
Data, information, knowledge, insight, wisdom, conspiracy theory.
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Word of the day: lukewarm. Now with its own faucet.
Word of the day: lukewarm
The directions that come with a Waterpik say to use lukewarm water. Whence lukewarm ?
Word of the day: cubeb
Why is someone with tuberculosis smoking anything?
Barry Sachs
One bit of instrument naming I can’t stand: “bari sax.” No one says “al sax” or “ten sax.” Why “bari sax”?
Dream data
This phrase showed up in a dream: “epistemic data.” I have invented two possible meanings.
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Brew, broth, bread, and beer.
Brew, broth, bread
Oh the things we talk about at the breakfast table. They’re related words.
A word in The Waste Land
And search engines.
Phrase of the day: cacoëthes scribendi
“An uncontrollable urge to write.”
Word of the day: ekphrasis
I recall sitting in an NEH seminar and being told that if one wanted to befuddle colleagues, all that was necessary was to speak the word ekphrasis. Well, maybe. I’m not so sure.
MLK: diversity
MLK using the word in 1967, more than. year before the OED’s earliest citation.
Recently updated
Another word of the year.
“Capitulation” or “compromise”
The New York Times says “capitulations.” I say “compromise.”
How to pronounce Leuchtturm
As I await the arrival of a Leuchtturm1917 planner, I have learned that Leuchtturm is not only a name but a word, meaning “lighthouse.” And I’ve learned its pronunciation
Efforting, or effort as a verb
How to make it clear that someone is trying hard or that someone is trying too hard? By avoiding the use of effort as a verb. I hereby pronounce the verb effort a skunked term.
Another meaning of “snail mail”
My one submission to the OED.
The Dictionary People
Knowing a bit about rabbit holes, I know the importance of knowing when to stop. But I understand the impulse to keep going, for it’s unlikely that there will be another book about the OED’s Readers.