Ben ZimmerVerified account

@bgzimmer

Linguist / lexicographer / columnist / contributing editor / all-around word nut.

Jersey City, NJ
benzimmer.com
Joined June 2008
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  1. Pinned Tweet
    Aug 31

    With the going on, my column has a tennis theme: how the agricultural term "seeding" got applied to spreading around the top players in a tournament draw.

    3 replies 3 retweets 2 likes
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  2. Retweeted
    56 minutes ago

    Surprising support for singular “they”. (Wanting to conceal the identity of the referent is pretty rare.)

    1 retweet 9 likes
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  3. Retweeted
    8 hours ago

    What is the word choice that would give you away as the author of an anonymous op-ed?

    2,244 replies 327 retweets 2,111 likes
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  4. Retweeted
    10 hours ago

    The literal meaning of 'lodestar' is 'guiding star'. 'Lode' is used in an obsolete sense meaning way, journey, course, or guidance. The figurative use dates back to Chaucer.

    sense 2 of lodestar "fig. A 'guiding star'."
    4 replies 5 retweets 25 likes
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  5. Retweeted
    19 hours ago

    . describes the new issue of 'American Speech,' a journal of how Americans, including, in this edition, Noam Chomsky, talk: via

    1 reply 6 retweets 6 likes
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  6. Retweeted
    Sep 4

    Here’s a a friend sent (thanks, Chuck!). What’s a crash blossom? explains:

    2 replies 7 retweets 16 likes
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  7. Retweeted
    Sep 4

    My take on the new THEY in writing, for those disinclined to my podcast. In short, it takes some getting used to, but so do plenty of words and constructions we deliberately internalize rather than learn as toddlers.

    65 replies 103 retweets 336 likes
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  8. Retweeted
    Sep 4

    In one of the strangest assignments I've ever had, I talked with , and about the word "cool"

    10 retweets 66 likes
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  9. Retweeted
    Sep 4

    My brief history of singular they, now on the OED blog:

    1 reply 26 retweets 52 likes
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  10. Sep 3

    From the archives: Why Americans Celebrate Labor (and not Labour) Day

    1 reply 2 retweets 8 likes
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  11. Retweeted
    Sep 3

    polyaffixishness

    polymathishness
    1 reply 3 retweets 10 likes
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  12. Retweeted
    Sep 2

    OMG. This is heaven. Sunday morning idiomatic analysis with a veneer of tennis? 😻

    In this weekend's Review section: why are rankings at the and other tournaments called "seeds"? The story of an agricultural metaphor.
    1 reply 2 retweets 6 likes
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  13. Sep 2

    Who knew etymology was such a booming industry?

    Replying to @bgzimmer @WSJ @usopen
    Tangential: Immediately after reading your WSJ piece, this ad appeared.
    4 replies 2 retweets 18 likes
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  14. Sep 1

    Only would connect & 's versifying to Gilbert & Sullivan, Tolkien, and Old English poetry. 🤨

    4 retweets 11 likes
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  15. Sep 1

    What does "crawm" mean in New Hampshire? Or "ridey-bob" in Kentucky? Fun segment based on regionalisms found in .

    3 replies 9 retweets 13 likes
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  16. Sep 1

    In this weekend's Review section: why are rankings at the and other tournaments called "seeds"? The story of an agricultural metaphor.

    3 replies 7 retweets 14 likes
    Undo
  17. Retweeted
    Aug 31

    Another fascinating word tale by : how "seeding" moved from agriculture to tennis rankings in the 1890s, when American enthusiasts experimented with different systems for setting up tournament draws. via

    1 reply 5 retweets 7 likes
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  18. Aug 31

    Farewell, Aretha. Glad you're finally getting your props (lexicographically speaking).

    2 replies 44 retweets 110 likes
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  19. Retweeted
    Aug 30

    I've got the next hotdog/sandwich debate. Are nightgowns pajamas? Having an editorial disagreement in Dictionaryland. I think nightgowns are a subset of pajamas, and the lexicographer editing my work says that nightgowns are not usually considered to be pajamas.

    70 replies 13 retweets 32 likes
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  20. Retweeted
    Aug 30

    The contexts in which people use "I could care less" are not ones in which scrupulous syntax is going to win you admirers—on the contrary, illogicality is the source of its charm.

    The OED doesn’t purport to establish “perfectly correct usage,” but it calls “could care less” an American colloquialism. The standard and logical form for writing is “couldn’t care less.” I refer you, , to Bill Walsh’s book Yes, I Could Care Less. All good wishes.
    7 retweets 19 likes
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