Vocabulary.com Blog Contributor
Mark Peters
Mark Peters is a language columnist, lexicographer, and humorist who has written for Esquire, The Funny Times, New Scientist, Psychology Today, Salon, and Slate. He contributes to OUPblog and writes the Best Joke Ever column for McSweeney's. You can read Mark's own jokes on Twitter, such as, "I play by my own rules, which is probably why no one comes to my board game parties anymore."
Dept. of Word Lists
Beware the Time-related Vocabulary of March!
Ides, Eons, and Other Words Used Once in a Blue Moon
Beware the ides of March! The vocabulary of time has plenty of other common and rare terms to help you navigate the space-time continuum. Here's a few timely terms that can build your vocabulary, and they're all learnable within a fortnight.
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Whether you're a newcomer to March Madness and the game of roundball or a rabid fan, here's some info on key terms. Because you never want to be that person who refers to a basketball as "the old leather pumpkin."
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The Academy Awards are a cornucopia of couture, celebrities and cinema! Whether you're writing a screenplay or a ransom note, your vocabulary can be blockbuster stuff. Here's a list of terms you're most likely to hear on Oscar night.
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Dept. of Word Lists
Valentine's Day: Romantic Oasis or Saccharine Nightmare?
Whether You're Alone, Attached, a Cynic, or a Combination Thereof, We've Got the Words for You!
Annoyed by this greeting-card holiday? Regardless of your romantic status this Valentine's Day, we've got a word list for you! One for the over-sweet side of this greeting-card holiday, and one for the under-attached among us. Remember, being alone and/or cynical doesn't mean you have to have a weak vocabulary.
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Some Super Bowls are a thrill to watch. Others, not so much. In a lopsided game, the play-by-play analysis and colorful commentary during the broadcast might even be more entertaining than the football. Here's a closer look at the language of a Super Bowl blowout.
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Thanks to numerous anecdotes about the old and new ways of the lexicography, I quite enjoyed The Word Detective: Searching for the Meaning of it All at the Oxford English Dictionary, the memoir of John Simpson, former Chief Editor. Simpson was a participant and prime mover in the huge changes to the OED, which saw the dictionary finally being produced, "from the computer database, not from copper plates." Because of the unique insights into the most important and impressive dictionary in English, this is a book any word lover should enjoy.
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It's mind-boggling that many people who profess to love language have bizarre, backwards ideas about it based on superstition and hokum. Educated folks who mock evolution-deniers have no problem believing equally unsupported ideas about language—such as "English is worse than ever!" and "Words shouldn't change!"
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