Word Freaks "Heaven on Earth"

It's right here.

Collins Publishing Company of the U.K., a creator of dictionaries and such, has just put up a website featuring new words that may or may not someday make it into their dictionary.

The feature's called "The Living Dictionary."

New entries this week: langer; galactico; bouncebackability

Jeremy Butterfield, the editor in chief of Collins English Dictionaries, said in Friday's New York Times, "This will completely transform the dictionary scene. It will give language enthusiasts unrivaled access to the words people really use every day and will allow them to keep up to date with new words in a way never possible before."

Typical British understatement, what?

Anyone can submit a word and debate its validity with other site users.

There's also a nice Scrabble Word Checker, to settle those arguments before the pistols come out.

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  • New Words New Words

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Article comments

  • 1 - Eric Berlin

    Dec 19, 2004 at 3:36 am

    Thanks for the heads up on this. I'm always on the lookout for new words, or meanings of words I either don't know the meaning of or, even better, use but am not entirely sure I am correct in said usage.

    For some reason, this website reminds me of this comedian in the 80s who made something of a career for something based on the concept of Sniglets, which were made up terms for funny things that didn't have a one-word description, like the one sock that always seems to go missing when you do the laundry. Rich Hall, I think his name was, and I believe he was on Saturday Night Live for a while.

    Eric Berlin
    Dumpster Bust: Miracles from Mind Trash
    http://dumpsterbust.blogspot.com

  • 2 - DrPat

    Dec 19, 2004 at 2:58 pm

    Yeah, Rich Hall's Sniglets - I still use diagonerd, the guy who cuts through the gas station or mini-mall parking lot to avoid the stop-light at the corner. Classic!

    I guess this is the dictionary for those who can't wait for Merriam-Webster's official publication...

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