While compiling the Oxford English Dictionary, lexicographer James Murray exchanged hundreds of letters a week with authors, advisors, and volunteer researchers. A new collection online lets you eavesdrop on discussions about which words should be...
Nancy in Aurora, Colorado, asks: Is there a better term for one’s adult offspring than childrenor kids. The list of expressions she’s pondered includes adult child, progeny, offspring, man-child, woman-child, descendant, successor, scion, offshoot...
Mia in Sumter, South Carolina, wonders: Is there a better term than adult child to describe one of your children who’s now a grownup? It’s hard to come up with a better, one-word expression for one’s adult offspring, and words such as spawn...