What strange impulse is it that tempts people to deny the existence of words they have just seen or heard in use, doing the job that words do? Plenty of people disdain gas guzzlers and green plastic footwear, but they don't try to tell you that Hummers and Crocs aren't real. And yet, all over the Web, self-appointed executioners are vaporizing words, with varying degrees of assurance and even contempt. "English major here: there is no such word as spelt," says a helpful commenter who needs a dictionary and a couple of British friends.
—The Boston Globe, March 17, 2007

Posted on March 28, 2007