| An occasional feature of my Twitter feed is Dictionary Dissent of the Day -- a beef with Webster's New World College Dictionary, the official dictionary of most American newspapers. Here's the list so far: | |
| WNW | Real life |
| Sweat shirt | Sweatshirt |
| Sunbelt | Sun Belt |
| Tranquillity | Tranquility |
| Bootees | Booties |
| Seviche | Ceviche |
| Largess | Largesse |
| Hardworking | Hard-working |
| Workingman | Working man |
| Workingwoman | Working woman |
8 comments:
With you all the way. Bless you.
I agree. "Bootees"? WTF?
Also, I've been slowly reading your second book (my Slot has it on her desk beside the Stylebook, with notes in the margins of both) on slow days.
Have you ever contacted them? I've emailed them twice regarding issues and both times, I've received lovely detailed responses. One disagreed with me (octopuses? PAH!) and the other whole-heartedly agreed (frijoles refritos are not fried twice) and stated that the entry would be fixed.
I've kept both emails, they really made a difference to how I viewed M-W.
(OED on the other hand.... :P)
Hardworking vs hard-working, eh…
Yes on the others.
I agree with you, Bill.
I would like to contribute "bloodred" and "redbrick." WTF? Where do they get these things? I thought they were supposed to be "descriptive."
My WNW, thank goodness, is showing "blood-red," and "redbrick" only as a reference to certain British colleges. I sure wouldn't want to have to write about a hardworking cabdriver wearing a bloodred sweat shirt in his redbrick town house.
My bad. I guess I need to start a separate list of dissents from MW11, which is what I was looking at.
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