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May 2005From the Mail ServerE-mail questions sent to Merriam-Webster last month included these: Does the dictionary contain any words that do not have any vowels? If the plural of goose is geese, why isn't the plural of moose meese? And is dude gender-neutral? Or are female dudes called dudesses? Get the answers. If you have a question for the editors, do what other word lovers do: send it to comments@word.com. June 2005From the Mail ServerThis month the editors were asked why a word found in a mystery novel can't be found in the Collegiate Dictionary and whether the definition of acronym in the Collegiate is A-OK? In addition, a writer in the Navy wrote in to check on the word personnel, while a couple wondered if you can have one troop? If you have a question for the editors, do what other word lovers do: send it to Comments@Word.com. August 2005From the Mail ServerSummertime living may be easy, but the questions keep rolling in. Our editors recently fielded questions about the origin of the blockbuster movie, the curious absence of a refreshing gingery drink from the Collegiate Dictionary, and the name for that bump in the road that has moved so many summer travelers. If you have a question for the editors, do what other word lovers do: send it to Comments@Word.com. In the mean time, catch up on the replies to other readers' questions. October 2005From the Mail ServerIrony consistently appears on our list of most-looked-up words. But when a definition didn’t suffice, one language lover wrote in for a more in-depth explication. Another reader challenged the editors to explain why a dictionary would stoop to include the so-called word irregardless. And a third correspondent sought help unraveling the meaning of the mysterious mummie. Need some assistance puzzling out the meaning of trickier words? Treat yourself to the Language Research Service available at lrs@merriam-webster.com. November 2005From the Mail ServerA word lover mulling over the effects of Hurricane Katrina sought information about the word picayune. And as the Supreme Court stayed in the headlines, our editors found themselves mounting a defense of the dictionary pronunciation of oyez. Finally, they had some fun by tripping over the tropes fantastic: explaining metonymy versus synecdoche. Need some assistance puzzling out the meaning of trickier words? Treat yourself to the Language Research Service available at lrs@merriam-webster.com. January 2006From the Mail ServerLast month, the editors received inquiries about blend words that have made it into the dictionary (fantabulous) and some that haven’t (ginormous). Editors also answered queries about how one counts “troops,” and they made a manly effort to explain why the Greek and Latin “homo-” prefixes are not the same. If you have a question for the editors, do what other word lovers do: send it to comments@word.com.
February 2006From the Mail ServerEditors have been answering questions ranging from topical (what exactly is a unitary executive?) to the historically philosophical (who was Occam and what's this about his razor?) On a lighter note, a reader thumbing through the dictionary tried to put his finger on what might be missing from the etymology of banana. If you have a question for the editors, do what other word lovers do: send it to comments@word.com.
March 2006From the Mail ServerThe American Crossword Puzzle Tournament is held March 24–26; coincidentally, we received an email last month with the subject line A 5-Letter Word That Means... and another note questioning the validity of a clue in the New York Times crossword puzzle. And as the planting season gets under way, the editors fielded a question of interest to gardeners. If you have a question for the editors, do what other word lovers do: send it to comments@word.com.
April 2006From the Mail ServerIn honor of spring cleaning, here are some queries from recent months that were left over but are too good to waste. Editors answered questions about whether something can be funner, about when cancelled should be spelled with one "l", and about whether a flock of crows is really called a murder. If you have a question for the editors, do what other word lovers do: send it to comments@word.com. May 2006From the Mail ServerOver the past month, our editors were happy to respond to word lovers who waxed philosophic and wandered into the world of science fiction words. If you have a question for the editors, do what other word lovers do: send it to comments@word.com. June 2006From the Mail ServerEditors recently fielded questions about what makes a garden a truck garden, about how snuck sneaked into the dictionary, and about the meaning of the word brokeback. September 2006From the Mail ServerRecent inquiries to our editors sent them running frontward and back, exhibiting nonchalance, and chomping at the bit. October 2006From the Mail ServerThe Supreme Court begins its new session this month, and one reader asked about the proper procedural approach (or at least, past tense) of a case already argued. Another wondered about the silence of the lamb, while a third wrote in search of the manly side of distaff. November 2006From the Mail ServerOver the past month, our editors have straightened out a confused spelling (see No. 13 on the Top Twenty List), seen both sides of a classic dilemma, and have indulged in speculation about the luxury of being lecherous. January 2007From the Mail ServerOur editors kicked off the New Year by celebrating a decades-old question that still looms large; they also answered a query born in the day of mourning for President Gerald Ford. Finally, they looked at how the big picture turns up in businesses named -orama. February 2007From the Mail ServerOver the past month, our editors have warned correspondents to beware the illogic of English, settled the lively question of naming soft drinks, and embraced the issue of inclusion. March 2007From the Mail ServerWhat is so rare as a day in February without an interesting word question to cross the editors' desks? Yes, last month was the time for tartare; it was also the season to spell out the rules of the lowly nickel and share the history of the high-falutin high-falutin. April 2007From the Mail ServerOver the past month, editors have fielded questions about the tone of timbre, about whether ideas (as well as people) can be obtuse, and about the thorny question of ye. May 2007From the Mail ServerLast month, editors didn't pussyfoot around about the story of the "sneaker" and they also gave a straightforward answer to the question of what you call words with meanings (when that word is spelled backwards). Finally, they jumped right onto the question of a word with wow. June 2007From the Mail ServerOver the past month, editors offered faint praise, spelled out a few words lacking vowels, and helped track down word senses both old and new. September 2007From the Mail ServerThings have been lively at the editorial desk this summer. One reader wrote in seeking the distinction between vim and vigor and another was curious about why we use the term coriander rather than the seemingly more logical cilantro seeds. Finally, a fellow racking his brain for the name of the word for a flourish under a signature asked not only for the word, but for the way we arrived at the answer. October 2007From the Mail ServerAutumn means back-to-school and it means the World Series. This month, our editors answered questions about a newish term that walked in off the baseball diamond and about a somewhat questionable term used by a French speaker in a history class taught in English. They also participated in the sport of trying to parse the application of a term naming an instrument for acquiring knowledge that was borrowed into English from Greek. November 2007From the Mail ServerWe get letters! Editors ate up a question about where our language comes from and went on to questions from correspondents (who must be reading their cookbooks aloud!) as they prepare for both holiday baking and plain old baked potatoes. January 2008From the Mail ServerJudging by the questions that came across the editorial desks over the past few weeks, folks spent the holidays wondering how to talk about places food is purchased and musing over the term for the room where food is prepared. In the midst of all that, at least one reader paused to wonder about the passage of time. February 2008From the Mail ServerForget the lovey-dovey Valentine feelings associated with February; these past few weeks have found editors answering questions from folks attempting not to feel disgruntled about gruntled and from those feeling distrustful about the meaning of cynical. March 2008From the Mail ServerThe March winds continue to blow politics across the editorial desk. The editors faced one question head-on about staying the course and dodged a bit on the question of whether we shall stay the course on the spelling of Web site. But March is also the month for a wee bit of Gaelic . . . admittedly, Scottish Gaelic, but we won't tell. April 2008From the Mail ServerThis month, editors fielded questions from here, there, and everywhere and they also tackled a usage question that helps explain the typically high rankings of affect and effect (#1 and #4 this month) on the Top Twenty List. While this second inquiry might be termed perennial, the third can properly be described as provisional. May 2008From the Mail ServerThis month's first question targeted the etymological dates of words, the second advised dictionary makers to double-check their work, and the third query elicited the assurance that the word tricentennial does indeed have a place in the dictionary. June 2008From the Mail ServerOver the past month, our editors answered a question from a writer on the front line of the editing wars, from someone uncertain as to how shoo-in developed that counterintuitive meaning, and from an inquisitive but inclusive sort who wants to make sure we and you are all on the same page. September 2008From the Mail ServerAs the carefree days of summer wane, people writing to the editors seem to be searching for order in the dictionary world. One writer has disdain for the anglicized pronunciation of litotes. Another correspondent proposes that Merriam-Webster take the lead in prescribing what biweekly ought to mean, and a third hopes to solve the mysteries of the origins of the word slang. October 2008From the Mail ServerCorrespondents sent in a number of challenges and questions this month — about changing a word's spelling, about a small problem with grammatical functions, and some inside baseball about defining language. |