Although I don’t have as much time to read as I’d like, here are a few books I have recently read and enjoyed. Outwitting History: The Amazing Adventures of a Man Who Rescued a Million Yiddish Books by Aaron Lansky of the Yiddish Book...
Whatever the amount might be, “as much food as one’s hand can hold” is how Samuel Johnson defined the luncheon in his 1755 dictionary entry. Over the two centuries since, we’ve seen more than a handful of takes on lunch, and it’s the subject of a...
[Grover voice:] Hello, everybodeee! We’ve been cranking out brand-new episodes, so if you’re behind, there are treats in store: • In last week’s episode, “Gone Pecan,” we explained how how gay got that way, we laid...
Helloooo! Guess what’s starting this weekend? Brand-new episodes! It’s our sixth season as an independent national show and the show’s 15th season overall. We’ve come a long way from the crystal radio transmitter and kazoo...
On the website Ask Metafilter, I answered a question about dictionaries that I want to elaborate on here. Metafilter user “Aswego” inquired: Is there some super-secret linguistics resource that sorts dictionaries by...
I have a new neighbor, and I’ve been electronically snooping on him or her. I say “him or her” because the surveillance device is the PandaCam at the San Diego Zoo, which welcomed a bouncing baby panda a few weeks ago. And as the...