Ben Zimmer is the executive producer of the Visual Thesaurus and Vocabulary.com,
language columnist for The Boston Globe and former On Language columnist for The New York Times.
The Boston Globe
“Boston Strong,” the Phrase That Rallied a City (May 12, 2013)
How’d we find a unifying phrase so fast? It’s been evolving for years.
At This Year’s Spelling Bee, Make Way for Meaning (Apr. 28, 2013)
Why is spelling showbiz while vocabulary is homework?
Why ‘Surreal’ Took Over (Apr. 21, 2013)
The words we turn to when we try to describe the indescribable.
Read more language commentary in The Boston Globe here.
The New York Times
Lies! Murder! Lexicography! (Dec. 2, 2012)
Sorry, but dictionaries are not made by cloak-and-dagger cabals full of deep, dark secrets.
Read more language commentary in The New York Times here.
The Atlantic Wire
“Media Diet: What I Read” (Apr. 4, 2013)