Favorite Words

Favorite Words

Last year sometime (we?re very exact here at VERBATIM world headquarters) we asked you to send us your favorite words. Not necessarily the words whose meaning you most admired, but the words you found a joy to say, write and hear (and as some of you pointed out, to...
The Twelve Days of Christmas

The Twelve Days of Christmas

We’re not quite at the “partridge in a pear tree” stage of the month yet, but I thought you might all enjoy this review, by Larry Urdang, of Thomas L. Bernard’s The Twelve Days of Christmas: The Mystery and The Meaning, from Vol. XXI/3:...
Believe it or Not

Believe it or Not

A new issue! Several, in fact, but here’s the Table of Contents for the first of the new issues: Qat in Yemen Gregory Johnson Three Limericks Max Gutmann Cuckoo for Crack Mark Peters My Genetic Code Louis Phillips User-Friendly Turkish Martin Gani Linguistic...
Laurence Urdang, Founding Editor

Laurence Urdang, Founding Editor

Laurence Urdang, VERBATIM’s founding editor and one of the most prolific lexicographers of the English language, died August 21, in Connecticut. Here is the link to The New York Times obituary; Ben Zimmer posts about Larry on Language Log; and I think the best...
Crossword #104 Answers

Crossword #104 Answers

If you were missing the answers to Crossword #104 in XXXI/1, you’re not the only one! Click here for them, which I know you’re only using to check your own answers, right?
Letters, We Get Letters

Letters, We Get Letters

One of my favorite parts of VERBATIM has always been the letters to the editor. They’re often more like bite-size articles than like traditional letters to the editor. This one, below, was the first letter in Volume I, No. 1, from Eric Hamp. Dear Sir: People...
Yet Another Quick Post

Yet Another Quick Post

We had some more requests for back articles this week, so two more are available to read online: Preposition Pollution, by Barbara DuBois, and Up and Down to You, by John Musgrave. An easy way to see the few articles we have available in html is to check out the Table...
Our New Address

Our New Address

VERBATIM has moved, and despite our renewing the forwarding request several times, the Chicago Post Office has decided it would be easier to pretend we don’t exist. So if your letter is returned, our new address is: PO Box 597302Chicago IL 60659 Our old address...
Welcoming Mark Peters

Welcoming Mark Peters

We’re happy to announce that Mark Peters has joined VERBATIM as a Contributing Editor. Mark is a frequent contributor to VERBATIM, and a language columnist for the parenting website Babble, as well as writing for American Speech, The Chronicle of Higher...
New Work from David Galef

New Work from David Galef

Long-time readers of VERBATIM will recognize the name David Galef; his pieces in our magazine consistently garner compliments (and the editor is always pleased to find a new one coming across her email transom). But VERBATIM, as you all know, only publishes...
Darn!

Darn!

I was thinking of Dwight Bolinger the other day (as you do) and remembered that he had written a very nice short article about “Darn!” for VERBATIM back in the day. Enjoy!...
You’ve Got Game!

You’ve Got Game!

It’s almost time for holiday shopping, so we’ve collated SIX YEARS of Gloria Rosenthal’s “You’ve Got Game” game reviews here in one humongous blog post for you! Here are all the games she’s reviewed — have...
New issue on the way!

New issue on the way!

Vol. 32 No. 1 is making its way to the printer tomorrow; check out the table of contents for the new issue: Are Prepositions Necessary? by Rosemarie OstlerHanky-Panky, Hugger-Mugger, and Other Reduplicative Rhyming Compounds, by Amy Shuffelton and Jessy RandallThe...
Quick Post: Noun Overuse Phenomenon

Quick Post: Noun Overuse Phenomenon

A subscriber from long ago rediscovered us again today, and asked particularly after one article: Noun Overuse Phenomenon Article, from Vol. 2, No. 4. So there it is — click on the link to read it. It’s a favorite! Please remember that if you are ordering...