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Tag Archives: oed
Some words are(n’t) better than others
Michael Proffitt, the new Chief Editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, was recently interviewed by CNN’s Christiane Amanpour (see video here) commenting on the place of the largest English dictionary in the modern age. Although the O.E.D. was one of … Continue reading
Posted in news
Tagged Christiane Amanpour, CNN, literally, Michael Proffitt, oed, selfie
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A Word on Asphalt
Did you ever see the word “ashfault” in a newspaper, book, article – or anywhere else at all? Well, until recently I was unaware of this word’s existence (too). It was only when I read Paul Brian’s usage guide Common … Continue reading
Posted in usage features, usage guide
Tagged ashfault, asphalt, assfault, common errors in english usage, Merriam Webster, oed, paul brian, spelling, urban dictionary, usage problem
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Jane Austen and imply and infer
K.C. Phillipps, in his book Jane Austen’s English (1970: 51), identified a usage problem in Jane Austen’s language: “The one usage to which the [sic] purist might object is infer in the sense of ‘imply’, though the NED [now OED] (infer … Continue reading
Eenermost: a gross corruption?
In the one instance in which this word occurs in Jane Austen’s letters it doesn’t mean what the spelling appears to suggest (innermost?): he said the fleas were so starved when he came back from Chawton that they all flew … Continue reading
Edmund Weiner and English usage guides
We probably all know Edmund Weiner as one of the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary. But he is also the writer of a usage guide: The Oxford Guide to English Usage. The book first came out in 1983, and … Continue reading
Pulpitically?
I’m currently analysing the entries in Five Hundred Mistakes of Daily Occurrence (1856), one of the earliest Americn usage guides (though not the earliest one, as I thought before), for a paper I’m giving on the topic at the 5th … Continue reading
An Academy of English?
Even if Great Britain never had an Academy of English similar to the France’s Académie Française or the Spain’s Real Academia Española, authority is still assigned to different bodies. But to whom? The desire for having a standard to hold … Continue reading
That was literally awesome
All things come to an end. No matter how hard we try, but ultimately we cannot prevent them from disappearing or not fitting our needs anymore. Take, for example, shoes. As a kid I had awesome shoes with blinking lights … Continue reading
Britishisms (try pronouncing this!)
One of our readers alerted us this morning to an article in the online BBC News Magazine called “Britishisms and the Britishisation of American English“. She commented: “Isn’t it interesting how it’s the opposite to what I looked at in my … Continue reading
A healthy or healthful debate
Autumn has arrived and the battle against catching colds has officially begun. The recent weather with its cold winds and heavy rain showers makes it even more difficult to fight off colds. Vitamins and staying dry seem to be the … Continue reading
