Some Fascinating Book Titles

From CBC Canada News -

Nazi spoons, robots vie for oddest title

Last Updated: Monday, February 22, 2010 | 12:29 PM ET

CBC News

Books about Nazi spoons, ethical considerations for lethal robots and how-to crochet geometric models are in the running for this year's Diagram Prize, the quirky annual literary honour celebrating odd book titles.

The U.K. trade magazine The Bookseller has announced a shortlist of six peculiar titles from the past year. The nominees are:

* Afterthoughts of a Worm Hunter by David Crompton.
* Collectible Spoons of the Third Reich by James A. Yannes.
* Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes by Daina Taimina.
* Governing Lethal Behavior in Autonomous Robots by Ronald C. Arkin.
* The Changing World of Inflammatory Bowel Disease by Ellen Scherl and Maria Dubinsky.
* What Kind of Bean Is This Chihuahua? by Tara Jansen-Meyer.

Organizers whittled down the list from a record 90 entries for 2009, more than half suggested via Twitter. It was a giant leap from the 32 submitted for 2008. However, organizers discovered that nearly half had to be disqualified because they were published prior to last year.

Still, "selecting a short list proved a Herculean task, as many books carried titles that furrowed the brow — not least How YOU Are Like Shampoo and Map-based Comparative Genomics in Legumes," Horace Bent, who administers the prize for The Bookseller, said in an interview.

"However, the vast sum of submissions has, in my humble opinion, created one of the most competitive short lists in the 32 years of the prize. And I look forward with incalculable anticipation to the result of the public vote."

The magazine invites readers to cast a vote on its website, The Bookseller, with the winner to be announced March 26.

Founded in 1978 as a tongue-in-cheek entertainment for that year's Frankfurt Book Fair, the Bookseller's Diagram Prize has since become an annual tradition. Past winners have included Bombproof Your Horse, Reusing Old Graves, Greek Rural Postmen and Their Cancellation Numbers, Living With Crazy Buttocks and, most recently, The 2009–2014 World Outlook for 60mg Containers of Fromage Frais.

Look Out For The Ask Murderer!

We have all heard of him. He is the subject of many creepy horror tales and the inhabitant of many a nightmare. He is the dreaded Ax Murderer!

But there is another scary type of person lurking about. I have seen him rather frequently.

I watch a fair bit of sports. I am sure you know that announcers as well as athletes can be a rich source of language goofs. But there is one in particular that really grates on my nerves. I hear it over and over, year after year. It is the pronunciation of "ask" as "ax".

"May I ask you a question?"

"Sure, man! Ax me anything you want."

Head for the hills! The Ask Murderer is out and about!!! Save the kids!!

Is it really that difficult a tax to pronounce it correctly? Or do you just let it go and hurry off to bax in the sun and hide behind you max of indifference?

As I pondered these questions I grabbed my cax (or was it a flax?) of Amontillado and went off to visit a few of my favorite websites. When I stopped by Schott's Vocab I came across a story that revealed the following -



The Chilean mint issued thousands of coins with the name of the country misspelled, the BBC reported:

The 50-peso coins – worth about 10 cents (6p) – were issued in 2008, but no-one noticed the mistake until late last year.

Instead of C-H-I-L-E, the coins had C-H-I-I-E stamped on them.

The coins have since become collectors’ items and the mint says it has no plans to take them out of circulation.


Perhaps they should have axed the proofreader?



Finally, for all of the thousands of athletes who visit this page -


AXE

(US also ax)

noun

1 a heavy-bladed tool used for chopping wood.

2 (the axe) severe cost-cutting action.

verb

cancel or dismiss suddenly and ruthlessly.

— PHRASES have an axe to grind have a private reason for doing something.



ASK

verb

1 say something in order to get an answer or some information.

2 say that one wants someone to do, give, or allow something.

3 (ask for) request to speak to.

4 expect or demand (something) of someone.

5 invite (someone) to a social occasion.

6 (ask out) invite (someone) out on a date.

7 (ask after) inquire about the well-being of (someone).

— PHRASES a big ask Austral./NZ informal a difficult demand to fulfill. for the asking for little or no effort or cost.

Checking Chandelier Bulbs

Recently I came across a website that was apparently for posting encounters that people had with folks who were ummmmm not the brightest bulb in the chandelier. Here are some of he posts from that site.


Stupid is as stupid does..

IDIOT SIGHTING:

We had to have the garage door repaired. The Sears repairman told us that one of our problems was that we did not have a 'large'enough motor on the opener. I thought for a minute, and said that we had the largest one Sears made at that time, a 1/2 horsepower. He shook his head and said, "Lady, you need a 1/4 horsepower." I responded that 1/2 was larger than 1/4. He said, "NO, it's not... Four is larger than two..."
We haven't used Sears repair since.

IDIOT SIGHTING:

My daughter and I went through the McDonald's take-out window and I gave the clerk a $5 bill. Our total was $4.25, so I also handed her a quarter. She said, "You gave me too much money." I said, "Yes I know, but this way you can just give me a dollar bill back." She sighed and went to get the manager who asked me to repeat my request. I did so, and he handed me back the quarter, and said "We're sorry but we cannot do that kind of thing." The clerk then proceeded to give me back $1 and 75 cents in change..
Do not confuse the clerks at McD's.

IDIOT SIGHTING:

I live in a semi rural area. We recently had a new neighbor call the local township administrative office to request the removal of the DEER CROSSING sign on our road. The reason: "Too many deer are being hit by cars out here! I don't think this is a good place for them to be crossing anymore."
From Kingman , KS ..

IDIOT SIGHTING IN FOOD SERVICE:

My daughter went to a local Taco Bell and ordered a taco. She asked the person behind the counter for 'minimal lettuce.' He said he was sorry, but they only had iceberg lettuce.
From Kansas City

IDIOT SIGHTING:

I was at the airport, checking in at the gate when an airport employee asked, "Has anyone put anything in your baggage without your knowledge?" To which I replied, "If it was without my knowledge, how would I know?" He smiled knowingly and nodded, "That's why we ask."
Happened in Birmingham , Ala.

IDIOT SIGHTING:

The stoplight on the corner buzzes when it's safe to cross the street. I was crossing with an intellectually challenged coworker of mine.. She asked if I knew what the buzzer was for.. I explained that it signals blind people when the light is red. Appalled, she responded, "What on earth are blind people doing driving?!"
She was a probation officer in Wichita , KS

IDIOT SIGHTING:

We were having a good-bye luncheon for an old and dear coworker, as she was leaving the company due to 'downsizing..' Our manager commented cheerfully, "This is fun. We should do this more often.." Not another word was spoken. We all just looked at each other with that deer-in-the-headlights stare. This was a lunch at Texas Instruments.

IDIOT SIGHTING:

I work with an individual who plugged her power strip back into itself and for the sake of her life, couldn't understand why her system would not turn on. A deputy with the Dallas County Sheriff 's office, no less.

IDIOT SIGHTING:

When my husband and I arrived at an automobile dealership to pick up our car, we were told the keys had been locked in it. We went to the service department and found a mechanic working feverishly to unlock the driver side door. As I watched from the passenger side, I instinctively tried the door handle and discovered that it was unlocked. "Hey," I announced to the technician, "It's open!" His reply, "I know. I already got that side. This was at the Ford dealership in Canton , MS

IDIOT SIGHTINGS:

When I left Hawaii and was transferred to Florida , I still had the Hawaiian plates on my car, as my car was shipped from Hawaii . I was parking somewhere (I can't remember) and a guy asked me "Wow, you drove from Hawaii to here?" I looked at him and quickly said "Yep. I took the Hawaii/San Francisco Bridge". He nodded his head and said, "Cool"!


STAY ALERT! They walk among us.... they REPRODUCE........... and they vote!

Like Fingernails On A Blackboard

Do certain words and/or phrases drive you up the hall? err, wall?

Here are a few that make me shudder -


Irregardless – Look it up. ”Commonly used by ignorant people.”

Uber

Think outside the box (My cat, Zero, used to do that on occasion. Oh! Wait! That was "tink"),

surreal

The end of (insert word here) as we know it.

That said, … (or having said that, …) followed by a contradictory opinion.

The habit of calling almost everyone "dear" or "hon" or "sweetie."

Shovel ready - When someone dies, he or she, too, is 'shovel ready' for burial, and so I get confused about the meaning.

Tweet, and all its variations -- used in connection with the Twitter social-networking site.

There's an app for that -- coined by Apple to use in promoting applications made for its popular iPhone.


There also seems to be a perfect storm of using 'Obama' as a prefix. Is there a bailout available to this problem? In the end (and at the end of the day) it probably is what it is and there is no public option to this surreal issue. It could be the end of grammar as we know it...

That being said, Whatever goes on from Wall Street to Main Street is sure to leave a huge carbon footprint. Ya know?

It certainly seems as though imaginative and thoughtful word usage has gone missing and it is high time we started cracking down on our language usage!

As we move forward, let me be clear. This is a whole nother scenario as we look at the facts on the ground. Well, maybe not so much. Yeah, enough of that.

Just sayin'.

A few odds and ends....

Just a few odds and ends found while surfing...


.....found here and there.

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Oooops.....

From an online news source...

Cable TV standoffs threaten viewing costs, choices

Jan 3, 2:30 AM (ET)

By DAVE CARPENTER

CHICAGO (AP)

...

Fox had demanded to $1 per cable subscriber per month for programming it used to gave away, saying it no longer can afford to offer programming free when cable channels earn subscriber fees.

...


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In Las Vegas in December, there was a great holiday party invitation which included the following:

… come join us for toasted marshmallows and carolers …

What comes to your mind?


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A Final Jeopardy answer from early January:

Of the eight parts of speech, this is the only one that does not end in the same four letters as at least one of the others.

?


The answer is...


What is an adjective?

The other seven are -


verb - adverb
noun - pronoun
conjunction - preposition - interjection


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From an online advice site -

Never assume that your cat knows the difference between her litter tray and the large, square pan of fruit crumble you’ve left cooling on the counter top.

Never try to remove your contact lenses after eating Hot Wings.

Never, never put bubble bath in a hottub with jets.

When attending a New York Jets football game with 3 freinds and you are carrying the letters J E T S to display during the game, make sure you get the order of the letters correct. New York fans do not appreciate the J E S T.


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Speaking of advice - here are some quotes worth thinking about.

Wise men don't need advice. Fools won't take it. Benjamin Franklin

If it's free, it's advice; if you pay for it, it's counseling; if you can use either one, it's a miracle. Jack Adams

Advice is like snow -- the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper in sinks into the mind. Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Aim above morality. Be not simply good, be good for something. Henry David Thoreau

An Email From A Friend

Every year, English teachers from across the country can submit their collections of actual analogies and metaphors found in high school essays. These excerpts are published each year to the amusement of teachers across the country.

Here are last year's winners...

1. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master.

2. His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.

3. He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.

4. She grew on him like she was a colony of E. Coli, and he was room-temperature Canadian beef.

5. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.

6. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.

7. He was as tall as a six-foot, three-inch tree.

8. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife's infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a
formerly surcharge-free ATM machine.

9. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't.

10. McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup.

11. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and
Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. Instead of 7:30.

12. Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.

13. The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.

14. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. Traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m., at a speed of 35 mph.

15. They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan's teeth.

16. John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.

17. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant, and she was the East River.

18. Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.

19. Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do.

20. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.

21. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while.

22. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame, maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.

23. The ballerina rose gracefully en Pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.

24. It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools.

25. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up.

So...What Are You Doing This Weekend?

One of my favorite sites to visit is Schott's Vocab. To quote from the website - "Schott’s Vocab is a repository of unconsidered lexicographical trifles — some serious, others frivolous, some neologized, others newly newsworthy. Each day, Schott’s Vocab explores news sites around the world to find words and phrases that encapsulate the times in which we live or shed light on a story of note. If language is the archives of history, as Emerson believed, then Schott’s Vocab is an attempt to index those archives on the fly."

Ben Schott is the author of “Schott’s Original Miscellany,” its two sequels, and the yearbook “Schott’s Almanac.” He is a contributing columnist to The Times’s Op-Ed page. He lives in London.

For me, the highpoint of every week is the Weekend Competition. This is a fun time as readers (Co-vocabularists) are invited to participate. The competition has, in the past, included such topics as - Euphemisms for Stupidity, Define Youth, Imaginary Libraries, Modern Similes, Tom Swifties and many more. The results always range from the sublimely witty to the outright hysterical. I would urge my readers to take part in the competitions each weekend. This truly is playing in the word farm!

(Please note that you will have to register with the New York Times to enter comments but you will not be bombarded with spam etc if you do.)

Recently there was a competition entitled Pun(ishment) and there was one comment that is the best I have ever read.

Here is the introduction to that competition -

Weekend Competition: Pun(ishment)

This weekend, co-vocabularists are invited to stoop to the lowest form of wit and submit the puns that have always tickled them.

Dorothy Parker famously observed: “You can lead a whore to culture but you can’t make her think.”

S. J. Perelman gagged: “I tried to resist his overtures, but he plied me with symphonies, quartets, chamber music and cantatas.”

Edmund Burke spotted: “What is (m)ajest(y), when stripped of its externals, but a jest?”

And Shakespeare’s famous pun – “Now is the winter of our discontent, made glorious summer by this sun of York” – has itself been punned upon by many a shopkeeper: “Now is the winter of our discount tents.”

Whether you’re a wordbotcher, quip on the draw, or a glutton for pun(ishment), your puns are welcome here.


The submission that I referred to earlier came from someone named MikeAq and I reprint it here without permission because I have no idea how to contact this person. If you enjoy puns, sit back and enjoy this piece. It is simply wonderful.


This is the post from MikeAq -



The following was a joint spontaneous effort among friends about a year ago, which I revised somewhat for this competition:

PHIL’S INTRODUCTION:

C, E-flat, and G go into a bar. The bartender says: “Sorry, but we don’t serve minors.”

So the E-flat leaves, and the C and the G have an open fifth between them.

After a few drinks, the fifth is diminished and the G is out flat. An F comes in and tries to augment the situation, but is not sharp enough. D comes into the bar and heads straight for the bathroom saying, “Excuse me, I’ll just be a second.”

Then an A comes into the bar, but the bartender is not convinced that this relative of C is not a minor. He notices a B-flat hiding at the end of the bar and exclaims, “Get out now. You’re the seventh minor I’ve found in this bar tonight.”

The next night, E-flat waltzes in accompanied by a very drunken C. The bartender says, “E-flat and C again! This could be a major development.”

Someone called the police and a capella soon arrived, who put C under a rest. He was acoustic of public drunkenness and marched off to jail. He objected loudly, alto no avail.

C was brought to trial, found guilty of contributing to the diminution of a minor, for de cadence, for breaking the Penal Coda by having an unprotected sax. And otherwise fluting the law. He was sentenced to 10 years at an upscale aria facility

On a peal, however, C was found innocent of any wrongdoing, even accidental, and that the charges were bassless.

MIKE CHIMED IN WITH, “HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED TO E-FLAT…”

E-flat, not easily deflatted, came back to the bar the next night clad only in a three-piece suite, which he removed, and stood there au natural, with exposed octaves partially hidden by a small fan dangle, apparently pedaling himself

A drunk who ate at the bar, Bached away and said, “Don’t that beat all!” and yelled for the boss Tony Pops, who called the voice squad.

The squad lieder said, “Gavotte do we have here?” They saw what was going on, saw E flat was carrying a piece, and said, “OK, E-flat, you know the quadrille. The jig is up!”

Pops wanted to refrain from prestoing charges because E-flat was not a violin offender, but the cops medley persisted, saying “Euphonium, we a rest ‘em.”

E-flat said, “Wait a minuet – reed my lips – these charges are falsetto!” The cops said, “Etude, you are slurring your phrases, off you go!”

The cops treated him like a piano kidding. They tried to march him off to jail in double time, but his movements were slow. His feet were retardando by tightly noted chords, and he could only take half-steps down the rocky clef to the jail, whose inmates were making noises lie kazoo.

Things progressioned from ballad to verse. Before they even made a notation in the station house register, the cops beat him with his own staff. He called his very obase fife Ella G, but the cops told her to make herself scherzo.

Ella G called a defense lyre, Lyn D. Hop, who knew E’s lady judge. Lyn thought he could get E out of jail, saying, despite being under a gigue order, “I wood baton it as long as E-flat can common time to see the judge and meter in her chamber.”

In jail, E-flat complained that all he had to eat was tune a fish, octet-opus, scale yunz and apple encores thrown in for good measure, with no soprano to wash his smelodious hands.

But his big-bassooned fife Ella G brought him a quartet of high screams for dessert, so he composed himself and changed his tune.

Lynn conducted E-flat’s defense by trumpeting his innocence in a longa breve to the court, saying “This is no hum drum case!”

He insisted on an impromptu trial, and arranged a bridge loan for E-flat’s bail, since he was going baroque.

A relative pitched for his release. And E-flat’s mother, Ma Zurka, even paid the lyre’s daily podium fees.

At E-flat’s trio, his lyre proved that there was no motif, and that the charges were prelude icrus. This tuned out to B a key theme , and his tone proved instrumental in the resulting verdict.

Dorian the trial the judge sostenutoed almost all defense objections, which gave E-flat quite a trill.

After a chorus of blues from E-flat’s supporters turned into a crescendo, the judged bowed to the mob, recapitulated to the inevitable, said “I am obbligato to release him!,” declaring the trial mute.

The prosecution failed to overture this release on a peal. All in all, a suite victory – avoiding being sentenced to an insti-tutti.

Everyone now agrees that E flat’s a rest had been a grave mistake, was glad that the judge set hymn loose, and that all his legato problems were finé.

The bar owner gave everyone a free round, ordered pizza gatos, played his treasured frank sonata records, and said we should all “just fuguettaboudit and all live in Harmonium”.

OTIS HORNED IN WITH:

It’s very encouraging that after such a wide interval, E-flat’s case was resolved.

It was rumored that E’s fat fife was getting tired of being retenuto, from singing; when the good news reached her, she took an Allegro to clear her sinuses and began crowing loudly, which got her into treble with her neighbors.

You pickup the story from hear.

JOHN FINALEIZED WITH:

I have no symphony for those who are bass enough to crescendo this chorus by mail to other musicians; it’s cymballic of the times that we now orchestrate even puns!

— MikeAq


Wow!

Thanks MikeAq for a great entry!

Yep - Another 5 Words

prevenient

adjective

Coming before; anticipatory; preventive.

[From Latin praevenient-, present participle of praevenire (to precede), from pre- (before) + venire (to come).]

"[Frank Stella's] big, shield-like 'Luis Miguel Dominguin' a silver-painted shaped canvas was acquired in 1961, a prevenient time indeed to buy Stella." Grace Glueck; A Collection That Breathes the Spirit of Modernism; The New York Times; Apr 8, 1984.

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riparian


adjective

relating to or situated on the banks of a river.

From Latin riparius, from ripa ‘bank’.

I first heard this word while watching the BBC comedy "Keeping Up Appearances". It was obvious that "riparian entertainment" was entertainment along a river bank. Several days later I was watching a program on the History Channel that included a reference to a "riparian eco-system" - one along a river bank. Yet again, about a week later, I watched a news item referring to a Connecticut town looking to have "a riparian location" for some shops that were being opened there. Enough already! I made it 63 years without ever hearing the word riparian and then was beaten over the head with it! LOL

I promise, when the weather warms up, to make a riparian post on this blog!


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cinereal

[fr. L cinereus, ash-colored] /si NER ee ul/
cinereous : ashen

"What phantom version of me is it that watches us—them-as they grow indistinct in that cinereal air and then are gone through the gap..."
- John Banville, The Sea (2006)


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mephitic

/mifitik/

• adjective literary foul-smelling; noxious.

— ORIGIN from Latin mephitis ‘noxious exhalation’.

Some ESPN usages are just too good to pass up; e.g., "Still, do-gooder or dilettante, there are at least two things Mrs. McMahon will need to consider as she moves from the forthright sunshine and uplifting narrative of prime-time "sports entertainment" into the mephitic underworld of
American politics."

- Jeff MacGregor, Page 2 Oct. 9, 2009


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shambolic

sham·bol·ic audio (shm-blk) KEY

ADJECTIVE:
Chiefly British Slang

Disorderly or chaotic: "[The country's] transportation system is in a shambolic state" (London Sunday Times).

ETYMOLOGY:
Probably from alteration of shambles

The sportswriters at ESPN seem to have taken up this word; e.g., "This time, it appears we won't have to wait nearly as long, because I doubt we will see a more shambolic effort than the one Utah submitted on a second-quarter fastbreak against L.A. on Sunday."

- John Hollinger, PER Diem Apr. 20 2009

A Calque-ulated Post

If it wasn't for calques, we wouldn't be able to stop at the beer garden for some free verse on our way to the flea market to take a look see for a landscape masterpiece.


As defined by WordNet, a calque is "an expression introduced into one language by translating it from another language."


From dictionary.reference.com -

calque

noun, verb, calqued, calquing.

Linguistics – noun

1. a loan translation, esp. one resulting from bilingual interference in which the internal structure of a borrowed word or phrase is maintained but its morphemes are replaced by those of the native language, as German halbinsel for peninsula.

2. loanshift.

–verb (used with object)

3. to form (a word or phrase) through the process of loan translation.

Origin:
1655–65; < F, n. deriv. of calquer to copy, based on the Italian calcare to trace over.



The English words listed in the first sentence above are translations of the following:


beer garden is from the German biergarten.

free verse is from the French vers libre.

flea market is from the French marché aux puces.

look-see is from the Chinese.

landscape is from the Dutch landschap.

masterpiece is from either the Dutch meesterstuk or the German meisterstück.



Calques are also known as loanwords or word borrowings and are word-for-word or literal translations. According to a Wikipedia article, "'calque' itself is a loanword from a French noun, and derives from the verb 'calquer' (to trace, to copy)."


Some more examples -

English Adam's apple calques French pomme d'Adam.

English crime of passion calques French crime passionel.

English Governor-General calques French Gouverneur Général.

English marriage of convenience calques French mariage de convenance.

English New Wave (artistic period) calques French Nouvelle Vague.

English rhinestone calques French caillou du Rhin "Rhine pebble".

English that goes without saying calques French cela va sans dire.

English point of view calques French point de vue.

And a neat fact -

J. R. R. Tolkien used the name "Bag End" as a calque of "cul-de-sac," to poke fun at the British use of French terms.

A Day Late

On February 1, 1884, the Oxford English Dictionary debuted. According to the History Channel web site:

"On this day in 1884, the first portion, or fascicle, of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), considered the most comprehensive and accurate dictionary of the English language, is published. . . . Plans for the dictionary began in 1857 when members of London’s Philological Society, who believed there were no up-to-date, error-free English dictionaries available, decided to produce one that would cover all vocabulary from the Anglo-Saxon period (1150 A.D.) to the present. Conceived of as a four-volume, 6,400-page work, it was estimated the project would take 10 years to finish. In fact, it took over 40 years until the 125th and final fascicle was published in April 1928 and the full dictionary was complete—at over 400,000 words and phrases in 10 volumes—and published under the title A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles."

One amazing stat about the OED -

Today, the dictionary’s second edition is available online to subscribers and is updated quarterly with over 1,000 new entries and revisions. At a whopping 20 volumes weighing over 137 pounds, it would reportedly take one person 120 years to type all 59 million words in the OED.

You know that monkey who is randomly hitting keys on a keyboard? How long would it take him to type those 59 million words? And don't his neighbors get tired of that constant tap, tap, tap?

One other related thought - Dictionary Day is on October 16 which just happens to be Noah Webster’s birthday. Get your shopping done early!