Always fond of the Macquarie WOTY effort for its mix of Australian and global lexical phenomenon. While not sexy, ‘blind box’ is a smart inclusion. (There almost seemed to be more security at the Pop Mart store at the exit of the Louvre than at the entrance when I visited last Monday!)

Wrote about the past and present of Word of the Year for @lithub.com.web.brid.gy. Some 2025 candidates in the piece: "Kavanaugh stop," "Coldplayed," "broligarchy," "amphipha," "chopped unc," and the hard-charging "Trumpstein files" #wordoftheyear

John Kelly @mashedradish.bsky.social makes 'fascism' his Etymology of the Year mashedradish.com/2025/11/04/f...

Democracy had a good week. That is good reason to hope. That is good reason to oppose—with renewed purpose—the forces behind my choice for the 2025 Word of the Year: FASCISM. Dive into my lexical—and etymological—treatment of this challenging word on my blog: mashedradish.com/2025/11/04/f...

“The aphorism,” Geary writes, “is, in some ways, perfectly suited to the digital age: The oldest form of literature finds its ideal vehicle in the most modern short modes of communication.” Thanks for reading and writing @mashedradish.bsky.social #aphorism mashedradish.com/2025/11/07/a...

I reviewed James Geary's new second edition of his delightful handbook to the aphorism, The World in a Phrase, which sparkles with the wit and wisdom of those he quotes: mashedradish.com/2025/11/07/a...

“It’s the constitution. It’s Mabo. It’s justice. It’s law. It’s the vibe-coding, Your Honour.”

Vibe-coding is an important advance in human-AI-‘machine’ interaction, but of limited interest to most non-specialists. Other terms on their shortlist are more relevant.

Collins has announced VIBE CODING as its 2025 Word of the Year in a list, Rachel Quinn says for the dictionary, "encapsulates what it means to be human in the age of AI." : blog.collinsdictionary.com/language-lov...

Oh no. Not you now, too, Shakespeare.

“We are not in normal times. We can’t afford to avoid politics out of politeness.” The 2025 Etymology of the Year, by @mashedradish.bsky.social.

Good angels guard thy battle. Live and flourish. ... Sleep, Richmond, sleep in peace and wake in joy.

Newsy #etymology: MAYOR, MAJOR ‘Mayor,’ as in Mayor Mamdani, is a doublet of ‘major,’ as in a major victory for him and Democrats across US elections. A doublet is a pair of words that come from the same source but entered at different stages. That results in different forms and senses. 1/

My 2025 Word of the Year is FASCISM. It speaks to the gravity—and reality—of the moment. There's data to back it up. No more important day to announce it than Election Day As I write about word origins, I give it extensive treatment as my Etymology of the Year here: mashedradish.com/2025/11/04/f...

My 2025 Word of the Year is FASCISM. It speaks to the gravity—and reality—of the moment. There's data to back it up. No more important day to announce it than Election Day As I write about word origins, I give it extensive treatment as my Etymology of the Year here: mashedradish.com/2025/11/04/f...

I recently realized that this month is the twentieth (!) blogiversary of Arrant Pedantry. My posting frequency has been pretty bad the last few years as I've dealt with health problems, pandemic burnout, and regular burnout, but I wanted to mark the occasion by sharing some of my favorite posts.

I was thinking “Hunger and Gold” is the title for this moment but now do we revise to “Hunger and Marble”?

TV on the Radio's 'Return to Cookie Mountain' and Wolf Parade's 'Apologies to Queen Mary' are honorary Halloween albums.

HERE WE GO Word of the Year season begins and it wasn't Collins going first this time

Newsy #etymology BALLROOM 1/ Never really thought about what the ‘ball’ in ‘ballroom’ is before. Maybe never would have if such a thing was being prioritized over, you know, healthcare and food security. And democracy. But here we are, etymologizing before the senseless abyss.

A very personal thread. And a hopeful one. 1/ The past two years, I’ve been going back to my high school—an all-male Jesuit high school, St. Xavier, in Cincinnati—to give a talk to juniors on the topic of addiction for their third-year religion course: Morality & Social Justice.

Dictionary.com goes out early with its 2025 Word of the Year … and it chooses “67,” or “six-seven.” www.dictionary.com/e/word-of-th... I had the privilege of running the site's Word of the Year for a few years, so I’ll share some thoughts (that don’t divulge any privileged info).

Dictionary.com goes out early with its 2025 Word of the Year … and it chooses “67,” or “six-seven.” www.dictionary.com/e/word-of-th... I had the privilege of running the site's Word of the Year for a few years, so I’ll share some thoughts (that don’t divulge any privileged info).

Doing a Google search, or just having Chrome open, is an onslaught of force-fed AI pick-mes now:

A very personal thread. And a hopeful one. 1/ The past two years, I’ve been going back to my high school—an all-male Jesuit high school, St. Xavier, in Cincinnati—to give a talk to juniors on the topic of addiction for their third-year religion course: Morality & Social Justice.

STOOLBALL! Also, SUPPORT DICTIONARIES!

"I DON'T NEED YOU TO FUCKING REWRITE WHAT I'VE JUST WRITTEN!"

Newsy #etymology BALLROOM 1/ Never really thought about what the ‘ball’ in ‘ballroom’ is before. Maybe never would have if such a thing was being prioritized over, you know, healthcare and food security. And democracy. But here we are, etymologizing before the senseless abyss.

I tuned into CBS because of @jdickerson.bsky.social, his reporting, and his insightful analysis—and will be following him wherever he goes next, taking my attention and all its sweet media value with me.

And the scripture has arrived. 😍

“Tell your children who the cowards were.”

Man, this paragraph from the latest bulletin from the local Jesuit parish I sometimes frequent ...

Now on the blog, the latest roundup in my “Workplace Word Origins” series, covering the #etymology of JARGON, MILESTONE, SESQUIPEDALIAN (yep), BENCHMARK, and TEAM. mashedradish.com/2025/10/27/w...

Newsy #etymology: DEMOLITION 1/ The -mol- in ‘demolition’ is related to ‘molecule’ and ‘molest.’

We don't talk enough about how much we look at our own faces. We’re just seeing our own mugs all the damn time. For most of history, we had, like, blurry reflections in water and crappy mirrors. Are our minds evolved to handle our constant selfies, our Zoom calls? Surely this is having consequences.

What did you pick up in the Criterion flash sale? I grabbed: - Dekalog - Taste of Cherry - Stalker - Tree of Life These films double as scripture.

1/ This was a great segment. And it touched on a good topic, effectively: are dictionaries, by any dint of who writes them, less plugged in to changing language of sports? I have some experience with this.

This one hits close to home. (My home.) 'Safe Sleep Lot' is a noun phrase that should not have to exist.

Newsy #etymology: DEMOLITION 1/ The -mol- in ‘demolition’ is related to ‘molecule’ and ‘molest.’

I drew a bunch of little animals. In the name of etymology. My latest post breaks down the origins of a menagerie of animal names—frog, bunny, squirrel, and blue jay—in the news. mashedradish.com/2025/10/22/f...

There is indeed much trouble at the white house.

The OED first cites “White House” for the US president's residence in 1811. But its citation from a letter by Abijah Bigelow, a Massachusetts Federalist congressman, in 1812 really stands out right now:

Let's hear it for LANGUAGE!

SLOPAGANDA The Philosopher's Zone with David Rutledge from ABC (Australia) is consistently one of my favorite listens—and it's not without lexical interest. 1/

Newsy #etymology. JEWEL/HEIST/LOUVRE edition. 1/

We already have 2025 WOTY action. 'Das crazy' was voted the 2025 German Youth Word of the Year. It beat 'goonen' and 'checkst du,' demonstrating the global impact of English in internet slang. 'Das crazy' is often used when someone doesn't know what to say, inter alia. www.dw.com/en/das-crazy...

I write happy anniversary cards to impress @cmolanphy.bsky.social now: 1/4

Great turnout and energy at the Cincinnati #NoKings rally. Here’s Ayman Soliman, former area children’s hospital chaplain and previously asylumed Egyptian immigrant who was detained by ICE in a regional facility for 73 days, addressing an expansive crowd on the significance of protest.

Hahaha--very informative read, and worth it for that subhead alone!

PLAY. That’s my main takeaway from Herbie Hancock, whom I saw last night with a virtuosic band. At 85, his playing sounds better than ever—and he likes to play, to have a joyful fun with sound, more than ever. He also likes to play around in his stage banter. Riffing, as it were.