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The Only Person I Know Who Owns the OED

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...

Resistance

Resistance is the theme Red Wheelbarrow Writers selected as its blog topic for 2017—an apt response for this time of political tumult. Blog coordinator Di Woods e-blasted a plea for members to sign up for a blog slot. “Resist,” she began, and included a...

P is for Perjoratives, Not Always Egregious

Every once in awhile our high school English teacher, Mr. Agol, would insert an unusual word into his lectures without including a definition, unless we asked for one. Whether I asked or not, I don’t recall, but I remember that he used the word perjorative whose...

L is for Lambert…without a capital

One night when my wife and I were propped up in bed, playing Words with Friends™, the online version of Scrabble™, I found that the seven letters in my hand, ALRTMEB, spelled my married surname: Lambert. I’ve always thought proper names were not allowed in...

K is for Kansa, Konza, Kanza, and Kaw

Way back on day #7 in G is for George, I mentioned my great grandfather whose parents permitted him to enlist in the Kansas Light Artillery in1963 when he turned sixteen. I’ve made two trips to Kansas to visit the towns where he and my ancestors lived, to search out...