000			02962cam a22003738i 4500
001			ocn956775014
003			OCoLC
005			20180722224051.0
008			160803s2017 nyu b 001 0 eng
010			_a 2016024253
040			_aDLC _beng _erda _cDLC _dYDXCP _dBTCTA _dBDX _dOCLCF _dHHO _dFM0 _dNFG
019			_a952154285
020			_a9781101870945 (hardback)
020			_a110187094X (hardback)
035			_a(OCoLC)956775014 _z(OCoLC)952154285
042			_apcc
092			_a413.028 _bS783
049			_aNFGA
100	1		_aStamper, Kory, _eauthor. _9325429
245	1	0	_aWord by word : _bthe secret life of dictionaries / _cKory Stamper.
263			_a1705
264		1	_aNew York : _bPantheon Books, _c[2017]
300			_axiii, 296 pages ; _c22 cm
336			_atext _btxt _2rdacontent
337			_aunmediated _bn _2rdamedia
338			_avolume _bnc _2rdacarrier
520			_a"Brimming with intelligence and personality, a vastly entertaining account of how dictionaries are made - a must read for word mavens. Have you ever tried to define the word "is?" Do you have strong feelings about the word (and, yes, it is a word) "irregardless?" Did you know that OMG was first used in 1917, in a letter to Winston Churchill? These are the questions that keep lexicographers up at night. While most of us might take dictionaries for granted, the process of writing dictionaries is in fact as lively and dynamic as language itself. With sharp wit and irreverence, Kory Stamper cracks open the complex, obsessive world of lexicography, from the agonizing decisions about what and how to define, to the knotty questions of usage in an ever-changing language. She explains why the small words are the most difficult to define, how it can take nine months to define a single word, and how our biases about language and pronunciation can have tremendous social influence. Throughout Stamper brings to life the hallowed halls (and highly idiosyncratic cubicles) of Merriam-Webster, a surprisingly rich world inhabited by quirky and erudite individuals who quietly shape the way we communicate. A sure delight for all lovers of words, Harmless Drudges will also improve readers' grasp and use of the English language"-- _cProvided by publisher.
504			_aIncludes bibliographical references (pages 265-280) and index.
505	0		_aHrafnkell: on falling in love -- But: on grammar -- It's: on "grammar" -- Irregardless: on wrong words -- Corpus: on collecting the bones -- Surfboard: on defining -- Pragmatic: on examples -- Take: on small words -- Bitch: on bad words -- Posh: on etymology and linguistic originalism -- American dream: on dates -- Nuclear: on pronunciation -- Marriage: on authority and the dictionary -- Epilogue: the damnedest thing.
650		0	_aLexicography _xHistory. _9325430
650		0	_aEncyclopedias and dictionaries _xHistory and criticism. _9218496
650		0	_aLexicographers _xBiography. _9325431
994			_aC0 _bNFG
999			_c247721 _d247721