Category: Uncategorized
Quoted in USA Today about Imus Brouhaha
I was quoted in USA Today about the Don Imus nappy-headed-ho brouhaha. “You can’t contain language any more than you can contain air,” says lexicographer Grant Barrett, co-host of the PBS radio show A Way With Words. He says conflicts such as this happen every day all over America, unnoticed by the media. Maybe that’s…
Chi-Tonw. You read that right. Want a tattoo?
Two years ago, a mistake was made: The tattoo read "Chi-Tonw" instead of "Chi-Town." Now, in an act of solidarity, more people are getting tattoos spelled Chi-Tonw on purpose. This fellow had it spelled that way on his neck. Chicago Tribune news and blog coverage, and audio on NPR.
From Student Researcher to Careful Scholar: Tips from a Lexicographer
I have an article in the Readex eNewsletter: From Student Researcher to Careful Scholar: Tips from a Lexicographer.
Captain of the Low Seas
Captain of the Low Seas. “Instead of getting about on a senior scooter, for example, Mr. Hansen used a forklift, and he was famous for driving it places forklifts have no business going, including but not limited to a busted section of pier that promptly collapsed, sending him and the forklift into the water with…
Granma McDonald
Granma McDonald came to visit last week to help out after I went back to work. She did an amazing job of taking care of us and left a freezer full of yummy food. See pictures from her visit.
Hard Wordes in Plaine English
Scott McLemee writes about the very first English-language dictionary. “At the risk of being overly present-minded, there’s a sense in which Cawdrey was a pioneer in dealing with the effects of his era’s information explosion. Thanks to the printing press, the English language was undergoing a kind of mutation in the 16th century. New words…
Behind the Spellwall: The Turing Test for Humans to Use the Internet
If you can’t spell, Internet Access Captchas will keep you off the Internet.