Jesse Sheidlower
American lexicographer
WORDS ABOUT WORDS
In the end, language changes because of the people who use it, not by appealing to any external factor, like spelling or history. People criticizing "NOO-kyuh-luhr" should also condemn "CUMF-ter-bull," yet they don't. Merriam-Webster's form letter about "nuclear" spends only two sentences discussing the word itself: most of the letter is an explanation of why spelling is not a valid basis for determining pronunciation. ... In other words, "NOO-kyuh-luhr" is a lost cause, and no amount of pleading on the grounds of technical context or historical novelty can expunge its use.
—Jesse Sheidlower, American lexicographer, The New York Times, October 13, 2002
Posted on March 26, 2004 at 9:27 AM
WORDS ABOUT WORDS
New expressions don't arise because people want to speak worse. People say them because it helps them express themselves better.
—Jesse Sheidlower, American lexicographer, quoted in The Washington Times, 2002
Posted on August 9, 1998 at 8:45 PM
WORDS ABOUT WORDS
But let's be honest: Who cares about the word for the fear of having peanut butter stick to the roof of your mouth? (Mr. Buckley pointedly does not care that this word is arachibutyrophobia, and he follows the critic Dwight Macdonald in condemning it and its ilk to the "zoo section" of dictionaries.)
—Jesse Sheidlower, American lexicographer, Introduction to The Lexicon, by William F. Buckley Jr., 1998
Posted on August 28, 1998 at 7:02 PM
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