Vocabulary.com Blog Contributor
Orin Hargraves
Orin Hargraves is an independent lexicographer and contributor to numerous dictionaries published in the US, the UK, and Europe. He is also the author of Mighty Fine Words and Smashing Expressions (Oxford), the definitive guide to British and American differences, and Slang Rules! (Merriam-Webster), a practical guide for English learners. In addition to writing the Language Lounge column, Orin also writes for the Macmillan Dictionary Blog. Click here to visit his website.
If you prefer to eat your Day-Glo Jell-O straight out of the Frigidaire in a Styrofoam cup and don't know how else to say it, this month's column is for you.
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We're all aflutter in the Lounge this month, and hope that what we're crowing about doesn't stick in anyone's craw.
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We gather in the poetry corner of the Lounge this month to spend some time with a good old-fashioned poem written back in the day when rhyme and meter were an expected part of the package. Along the way, we marvel at the staying power of a few sturdy English words.
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English has some peculiar ways of spelling words, but happily there is often a method to its madness. This month in the Lounge we explore, with the help of the Visual Thesaurus, some of the least among us, at least in so far as number of letters is concerned.
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"American spelling is plainly better than English spelling, and in the long run it seems sure to prevail." Well, that's one man's opinion. But where did all the differences begin? We take a look back this month in the Lounge.
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The Sports Closet - an area of the Lounge hitherto closed to visitors - is thrown open this month as we examine some linguistics curiosities brought to light by the recent World Cup.
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Besides writing the monthly Language Lounge column, distinguished lexicographer Orin Hargraves creates our unique "themed" Words of the Day. Subscriber Marije Martijn recently sent us this comment on the word "Stipple," which ran on July 24th:
I just had to be my pedantic self and comment on the word of the day: if you want to thank someone for the root "stip" of your verb 'to stipple', you should thank the Dutch. I admit, there is also a German word "Stipp," but "stip" is a Dutch word. There is even a Dutch verb, "stippelen," i.e. "to dot." I don't know of a German verb like that. But then, I am not German, so there may very well be such a verb. Best wishes, MarijeContinue reading...
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