Tag Archives: words about words

Imagining a World without Words

Posted on September 15, 2012 by Heather

I love Radiolab’s podcasts, and I especially love this one. I’ve listened to it several times, and each time it fills me with a sense of just how crucial language is. I suspect that at least part of my fascination … Continue reading →

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Writative

Posted on June 6, 2012 by Heather

Vest-Pocket Vocabulary Writ’ative, a. inclined to write as an author. Word in the Wild: Vicki used pencils to put up her hair so that she could write at any time whatsoever. She wrote while riding the bus, wrote in her … Continue reading →

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The Great Typo Hunt

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Heather

Recommended Read Deck, Jeff and Benjamin D. Herson. The Great Typo Hunt: Two Friends Changing the World One Correction at a Time. New York: Broadway Paperbacks, 2010. [ISBN-13: 978-0-307-59108-1] So what do you do if you want to change the … Continue reading →

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Quodlibet

Posted on June 26, 2011 by Heather

Vest-Pocket Vocabulary Quod’libet, n. a nice point for discussion. Word in the Wild: Their discussion came to a standstill after Monique’s shocking confession, and the party goers looked desperately about for someone to save them from the conversational vacuum that … Continue reading →

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Pleonastic

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Heather

Vest-Pocket Vocabulary Pleonas’tic, adj. containing unnecessary words. Word in the Wild: Say what you will about Aunt Vera’s cell phone addiction, but I still prefer her 140-character texts to all the pleonastic emails she used to send. The OED says this … Continue reading →

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The Man Who Loved Books Too Much

Posted on April 2, 2011 by Heather

Recommended Read Bartlett, Allison Hoover. The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession. Toronto: Penguin Canada, 2009. [ISBN-13: 978-0-14-3116824-9] The Man Who Loved Books Too Much is the … Continue reading →

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Going on a Word Hunt…

Posted on March 19, 2011 by Heather

Gonna catch a big one! For as long as I can remember I’ve been completely fascinated by lexicography. I remember the second time* I went sans parents to the big mall in the city where I grew up… I was … Continue reading →

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Elinguid

Posted on August 8, 2010 by Heather

Well, it’s been a diuturnity since I last posted, but the radio silence it finally over. School is now out forever (or at least until I get the itch to take another class), and I”m glad to be blogging again. So without further ado here’s this week’s Vest-Pocket Vocabulary, which is all about radio silence. Continue reading →

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Bibliomania

Posted on June 17, 2010 by Heather

Biblioma′nia, n. a rage for curious books.

Word in the Wild: Recent studies show that readers of the Word Blog suffer disproportionately from bibliomania. Continue reading →

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