Words from the 1980s
The habits of post-war austerity had begun to chafe in the 1960s. The economic shocks of the 1970s did little to permit the loosening of shackles, but in the 1980s…
Find out moreWelcome to the OED blog
What do ‘dungarees’ mean to you? Crowdsourcing an answer from Twitter
In revising one entry for a recent update, one of our editors decided to put Twitter to a different lexicographical use
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The art of reading for the OED: John Birchall
In ‘the art of reading for the OED’, John Birchall explains what makes a good reader and how seventeenth-century prose introduced him to new perspectives.
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Dope and sex and rock ‘n’ roll: slang lexicography with Jonathon Green (part two)
In celebration of the 90th anniversary of the OED’s completed First Edition, slang specialist and lexicographer Jonathon Green sat down with Henry Hitchings, a Consultant Editor for the OED, to…
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Dope and sex and rock ‘n’ roll: slang lexicography with Jonathon Green (part one)
‘My feeling is that I don’t subscribe to a specific definition, rather the sense that slang has a pervasive state of mind. I would suggest that there is an underlying strain that goes through the entire slang lexis, which is sedition.’
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The art of reading for the OED: Colin Bagnall
Over the ‘art of reading for the OED‘ blog series, readers Ruth Mateer, Joy Winnington, John Healey, Vivienne Painting, and Chuck Deodene have shared insights into the various delights of…
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An ode to the OED
‘I carted the 20 volumes home with such elation that I stopped at the fishmonger’s to buy some turbot for a celebratory dinner.’ Assistant editor of the Daily Telegraph Christopher Howse on the OED:
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An antedating for gay, and other treasures from the Burgess Papers
OED Associate Editor, Peter Gilliver, discusses some of the recent research involved in updating the entry for ‘gay’.
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The art of reading for the OED: Chuck Deodene
Previously in this series on the art of reading for the OED, we have heard from Ruth Mateer, Joy Winnington, John Healey, and Vivienne Painting on their work with the dictionary’s Reading Programmes. Here, Chuck Deodene talks us…
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The art of reading for the OED: Vivienne Painting
‘A favourite aspect of both programmes is the joy experienced when finding a ‘good’ quotation or an antedating. The feeling is virtually euphoric!’
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