Lexicographer Literacy

I didn’t mean to “up” you on my trumpeting the praises of James Murray and Noah Webster, but I thought it important to remember that the spectrum of lexicography does not begin and end with one Samuel Johnson.

My lexicographical literacy is just one of the perks that comes with having to take a whole semester’s class on reference books in library school.

I really need to start reading Tristram again…I’ve been off for like ten days(!).  If I don’t start reading again soon Tristram will become another Sophie’s World, Horse Whisperer, and Golden Notebook and languish partly read on my bedside table.  AND I won’t make the self-imposed April deadline (which I’m determined to do).

 So when you visit this weekend you can expect quite the Shandyrama.

Until then,

Jon

A Good Ol’ Game of One-Upsmanship

John Murray! Bandying about with your more esoteric lexicographers. Well played, Jeffryes, well played. I bow to your superior knowledge of dictionary-related factoids. (And just for the record, Noah Webster is no contest for Dr. Johnson. He couldn’t even carry Samuel Johnson’s extensive files on word origins and definitions.)

My real knowledge base has always really been thesauruses (or thesauri). I could really drop some knowledge on you about Peter Mark Roget.

Okay, I hate to cut this short, but I just re-read what I’ve written so far, and the incredible level of nerdiness has actually left me speechless.

Speechless.

Justin