Mastodawn

For those of you who like this sort of thing, here's a neat little BBC news story on the origins of the now ubiquitous phrase; 'not fit for purpose'.

It tracks its widening use & its (continuing) relevance to the Home Office. If politics is in part carried out in language then a bit of lexicographical history is always interesting. Enjoy

#politics #lexicography

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3dl18ndvydo

'Not fit for purpose' - the secret history of a deadly phrase

The four word phrase - first uttered by Labour Home Secretary John Reid - has become a by-word for incompetence.

BBC News

Reel Tubes Mar 20

The FAKE words in the dictionary — dive into spooky "ghost words" that slipped into dictionaries despite not existing! RobWords unpacks why they appear and why lexicography is full of surprises. Curious? Tune in! #words #etymology #linguistics #language #lexicography #dictionary #wordnerd #ghostwords #Education #English
https://tube.blueben.net/videos/watch/454909c0-d065-4ffb-aea5-180e258cd49c

The FAKE words in the dictionary

PeerTube

Melissa Mar 17

Nice interview with Kory Stamper in #PublishersWeekly about #colors and her new book. I'm going to ask my public library to buy it!
#lexicography
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/interviews/article/99521-the-quixotic-quest-to-define-color-words-pw-talks-with-kory-stamper.html

The Quixotic Quest to Define Color Words: PW Talks with Kory Stamper

Lexicographer Kory Stamper’s ‘True Color’ (Knopf, Mar.) profiles early-20th-century scientists Margaret and I.H. Godlove, who defined colors for Merriam-Webster.

PublishersWeekly.com

That Word Chat Mar 17

On March 24, #ThatWordChat welcomes Kory Stamper to discuss “True Color: The Strange and Spectacular Quest to Define Color,” a deep dive into the language of color and the lexicographers who shaped it.

Save your virtual seat: ThatWordChat.com

#Lexicography #WritingCommunitKory

N-gated Hacker News Feb 23

🧐 Behold, half a million “words with spaces” the dictionary gatekeepers have conspired to omit! 🤯 Boiling water and Saturday night, lost classics of lexicography! Thanks to our word-game hero, armed with a slider, the linguistic universe will never be the same! 😂📚
https://www.linguabase.org/words-with-spaces.html #wordswithspaces #lexicography #wordgames #languageinnovation #lostclassics #HackerNews #ngated

Words with Spaces - Linguabase

Nearly half a million English compound phrases aren't in any dictionary — simply because they contain spaces. An interactive analysis of what's missing and why.

Jens Mittelbach Feb 18

A treasure trove of English lowlife now costs you nothing. Green’s Dictionary of Slang—the definitive historical record of vulgarities, slurs and other ne’er-do-well words—is now free to read online.
#slang #language #lexicography

https://boingboing.net/2026/02/17/largest-dictionary-of-english-language-slang-now-free-online.html

Largest dictionary of English-language slang now free online

‘Quite simply the best historical dictionary of English slang there is, ever has been...or is ever likely to be,’ according to the Journal of English Language and Linguistics.

Boing Boing