Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries

by Kory Stamper

Humanity sets up rules to govern English, but English rolls onward, a juggernaut crushing all in its path.

People do not come to the dictionary for excitement and romance; that’s what encyclopedias are for.

I call bullshit on this! (Dictionaries are the shit!)

The Latin virus is a wonderfully evocative yet tidy word: it can mean “poison,” “stench,” “venom,” or “slimy liquid.” It got its distant tie to “ooze” because of the “slimy liquid” sense, and to “weasel” and “bison” for the “stench” sense.

“Are you taking pictures for work again?” “Just one.” “Oh my God,” she moaned, “can you ever just, like, live like a normal person?” “Hey, I didn’t choose the dictionary life—” “Just stop—” “—the dictionary life—” “MOM—” “—chose me,” I finished, and she threw her head back and sighed in exasperation.