by Linda | May 20, 2017 | Authors
A few weeks ago I blogged about the Oxford English Dictionary and I mentioned Ara Taylor as the only person I know who owns the print version of the OED. Is there anyone else out there with sagging shelves containing all twenty volumes? Ara was prompted to use the OED...
by Linda | Apr 30, 2017 | Authors
Because I was three days behind in the A-Z Blog Challenge, my wife suggested—just before I wrote X—that I cover three letters in one blog. “Do you think there’s a word that has X, Y, and Z in it?” she asked. “Sure,” I said, thinking...
by Linda | Apr 30, 2017 | Authors
Using this whimsical, multi-colored Y-alphabet letter encouraged me to find whimsical, multi-colored, or at least unusual words. How ’bout these from some of the sources I’ve used in the A-Z blog challenge? Yirn v. “To whine; to pout, or show...
by Linda | Apr 29, 2017 | Authors
According to the online Urban Dictionary, “X marks the spot” was a symbol pirates used to designate the location of treasure. Then the British Army appropriated the phrase and the X for executions. They marked a piece of paper with a black X and positioned...
by Linda | Apr 29, 2017 | Authors
Way back on April 5th, I talked about John Simpson’s The Word Detective, a memoir about Simpson’s time as an editor at the Oxford English Dictionary. Meanwhile, I found The Word Detective by Evan Morris, published in 2000 by Algonquin, a most charming book, right...
by Linda | Apr 27, 2017 | Authors
I never know where I’m going to find a compelling word, in this case, a V-word—in, say, the OED, from one of our 30+ word books, or in some random, unexpected place. Since I had a hangover bad mood, triggered by yesterday’s two-hour wait for a...
