All of the word-of-the-year coverage you could want

Posted on 01/22/2021 at 10:00 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

We’re squeaking in one last word-of-the-year post while it’s still technically the first month of the new year. The Columbia...

Categories: Today in Books

Tagged As: Just for fun, Language

The Guardian's most influential words of 2020

Posted on 12/05/2020 at 04:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

The Guardian's David Shariatmadari has taken the Oxford English Dictionary approach to choosing a word of the year. Rather than...

Categories: Today in Books

Tagged As: coronavirus / COVID-19, Language, The Guardian

Dictionary.com also chooses "pandemic" as its word of the year

Posted on 12/01/2020 at 02:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

It’s perhaps fitting that in a year where many days feel the same, Dictionary.com chose the same word of the...

Categories: Today in Books

Tagged As: coronavirus / COVID-19, Language

No surprise: "Pandemic" is Merriam-Webster's 2020 word of the year

Posted on 11/30/2020 at 10:00 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Merriam-Webster’s selection of a word of the year for 2020 is the least shocking thing that has happened all year....

Categories: Today in Books

Tagged As: coronavirus / COVID-19, Language

Thanksgiving eve fun and games

Posted on 11/25/2020 at 03:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Ready for a holiday challenge that isn’t about how much you can cook, how much you can eat, or how...

Categories: Today in Books

Tagged As: Just for fun, Language

Oxford English Dictionary won't choose a word of the year for 2020

Posted on 11/23/2020 at 02:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

The Oxford English Dictionary editors have decided not to declare a word of the year for 2020. Instead, the team...

Categories: Today in Books

Tagged As: Language, The Guardian

"Lockdown" is Collins Dictionary's word of the year

Posted on 11/10/2020 at 12:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

This will shock no one: Collins Dictionary’s word of the year is “lockdown.” And still unsurprisingly, other contenders for that...

Categories: Today in Books

Tagged As: coronavirus / COVID-19, Language

Dictionary.com updates 15,000-plus entries, adds 650 words

Posted on 09/01/2020 at 02:35 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Dictionary.com has made significant changes to more than 15,000 entries. The Guardian reports that the site, which calls itself the...

Categories: Today in Books

Tagged As: Diversity, Language, The Guardian

John Boyne and Sean Hannity’s bookish boo-boos

Posted on 08/05/2020 at 09:40 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

The Guardian shared two stories of astute readers calling attention to slip-ups in some well-known figures’ books. The first one...

Categories: Today in Books

Tagged As: Language, Nonfiction, Politics, The Guardian

Hasbro is rewriting Scrabble rules to ban "slurs"

Posted on 07/14/2020 at 11:13 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

It’s been a busy few months for the North American Scrabble Players Association, the nonprofit that Hasbro has granted the...

Categories: Today in Books

Tagged As: Language