by Kory Stamper published May 22, 2018When we use dictionaries, we think that we are getting a pure view of language, one uncluttered by spin, by misuse, by shifting context. But, lexicographers like me will tell you that language is context. Every meaning in a dictionary is written based on the contextual uses of a word—and context, like people, can get confusing and messy. In …
Presidential word mangling When it comes to Twitter accounts, there are few that are as closely watched around the world as that of President Donald Trump. With the advent of Twitter, and in particular our current president’s voracious appetite for sharing his every thought, there has come an ability for the world to evaluate something rarely put on display by politicians: their spelling. Trump’s grammar gaffes …
Turpitude, venality, and demagogue When former CIA Director John Brennan weighed in on the firing of former Deputy Director of the FBI Andrew McCabe, he likely expected to make waves. But did he know he’d send searches for his word choices skyrocketing on Dictionary.com? The director’s tweet, issued in response to President Donald Trump, represents the biggest spike in searches on Dictionary.com March 16–23, 2018! …
1. What caused the biggest jump in searches on Dictionary.com the week of March 8–15, 2018? The word rehabilitation had a whole lot of people scratching their heads. The term took a 607% leap in searches over the prior week. The spike followed news out of Connecticut that a former University of Hartford student named Brianna Brochu had been sentenced by a judge to “accelerated …
Buzzwords and catchphrases often surface in our culture. Many come from landmark news events, and, before you know it, that term is everywhere and firmly embedded in our collective conscience. Why do they strike such a chord? If there was a secret sauce to creating one of these memorable expressions, we’d all be copywriters. Let’s look at some from the world of news (and we’ll …
1. hologram Searches for this futuristic term jumped 65% this week as news circulated that Justin Timberlake would be performing with a hologram of Prince during the Super Bowl halftime show. Before game-day, it came out that Prince was not a fan of the technology, saying in 1998, “that whole virtual reality thing… it really is demonic. And I am not a demon.” Ultimately, Timberlake …
Advertisers often use demographics to target consumers. Similarly, pollsters and politicians use demographics to identify voting patterns.
Whose nuclear launch button is bigger? There has been a serious kerfuffle in the news about buttons and their relative size. Specifically, nuclear launch buttons. Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, flatly stated that a nuclear button is on his desk at all times. “It’s not a mere threat but a reality that I have a nuclear button on the desk in my office.” …
As 2017 comes to a close, we reflect on the words that impacted all of us, for better or for worse. American leadership made bold communication choices in 2017: Fury replaced diplomacy. Accusations of collusion distracted from the truth. Covfefe gave us some much needed comic relief in an era of Presidency by Tweet. (No, we’re not adding it to the dictionary…at least not yet.) …
Every snowflake is unique. Reclaim the snow. Snowflake is one of the words that has taken a jump from normal noun to pointed insult. When used as an insult, it means that someone is easily offended and has a hard time accepting anything outside of their comfort zone. It’s often used against younger people (generally, those of the millennial generation) and left-leaning people.
Sometimes it feels as if our country is more divided than it’s ever been. With social media and cable news outlets acting as our own personal echo chambers, it feels like our political differences seem to be dividing us more than ever. But, we should also recognize that this isn’t the first instance of divisive politics in US history. Think about the incredibly tumultuous 1960s, …
