In my last column, I began an overview of how Thornton Wilder used language in his classic American play, Our Town. Teachers, you'll want to read that column before picking up here, which points out several more ways Wilder adeptly used words in his play. You'll be able to use these ideas in your classroom.
Continue reading...
In my last column, I began an overview of how Thornton Wilder used language in his classic American play, Our Town. Teachers, you'll want to read that column before picking up here, which points out several more ways Wilder adeptly used words in his play. You'll be able to use these ideas in your classroom.
Continue reading...
Word Routes
Exploring the pathways of our lexicon
Mailbag Friday: "Widespreadly"? 
September 5, 2008
By Ben Zimmer
Why does "widespreadly" sound so wrong?
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Candlepower
Ad and marketing creatives
When Less Is More: Twitter for Writers
September 4, 2008
How the "microjournals" of Twitter can help writers choose their words carefully.
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Word Routes
Exploring the pathways of our lexicon
The Summer of the "Staycation"
September 3, 2008
By Ben Zimmer
Will "staycation" be the lasting lexical contribution of the Summer of '08?
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If your interest is piqued by Nancy Friedman's introduction to TwitterLit (TwitLit? Twitterature?), check out more on these "byte-sized stories" from Ars Technica.
Long before Twitter, writers have been trying to write fiction as tersely as possible.
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Move over, Jane Austen. The Brontë sisters have a strong following in the blogosphere.
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Getting Acclimated to "Acclamation"
August 26, 2008
- 2 Comments
Back From Slack: Reading "Our Town"
August 25, 2008
- 7 Comments
Mailbag Friday: "(Over)whelmed"
August 22, 2008
- 6 Comments
Really! Truly! Literally!
August 19, 2008
- 8 Comments
Inside the OED, Part 3: Across the Alphabet
August 14, 2008
August 14, 2008
Stumbling over "Synecdoche"
August 12, 2008
- 8 Comments
Mailbag Friday: "Mad Hatter"
August 8, 2008
- 5 Comments
Medical Misapprehensions
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August 7, 2008
- 2 Comments
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Mailbag Friday: "Widespreadly"?
Ikars S.
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"Seems to me that the case is clear. Way back when the language was relatively young and had not been studied as much as it has been since, any..."
- Friday September 5th, 10:38 PM
Taking Shape
Anica W.
said,
"Besides Greek and Latin words being used to describe shapes, there is an equal opportunity to explore Greek and Latin words that may be used to..."
- Friday September 5th, 1:17 PM
When Less Is More: Twitter for Writers
Ali G.
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"I have been twittering for almost two years now. The 140 character limit helped me a lot to organize my thoughts in an economical manner, and urged me..."
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The Summer of the "Staycation"
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Thoroughly enjoyed this piece- keep up the fabulous work at VT!"
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When Less Is More: Twitter for Writers
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- Thursday September 4th, 11:24 AM
Nancy Friedman
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"Josefina: I recommend that you start by following people you know, or at least have heard of, or with whom you share interests. If any of your friends..."
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Josefina B.
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Lesson Plans
Put the VT to work in your classroom
Recasting Language through Found Poetry
September 6, 2008
How can students analyze and write found poetry based on particular prose passages?
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Recent Lesson Plans:
Math Words with Multiple Meanings
July 29, 2008
When You Reeeaaallly Want to Say Something
July 3, 2008
Where Math Meets Poetry
May 30, 2008
- 2 Comments
In honor of the U.S. presidential conventions, we've got a political theme this month. Solve it and you could win a Visual Thesaurus T-shirt!
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We're very pleased to announce a brand-new feature: the Visual Thesaurus Spelling Bee! Taking advantage of our high-quality audio pronunciations, we've created a quiz that will sharpen your spelling skills and expand your vocabulary. And as everyone here in the office can attest, the quiz is downright addictive.
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A New Look, and a New Column on the Way
May 12, 2008
Our Audio Pronunciations... And the Voices Behind Them
May 5, 2008
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Stylin', Profilin'
April 28, 2008
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