By: Connie Ngo,
on 1/22/2016
Though caused by microscopic agents, infectious diseases have played an outsized role in human history. They have shaped societies, lent us words and metaphors, and turned the tide of wars. Humans have eliminated some diseases, but others continue to plague us. In this quiz, find out if confusion is contagious or if you’re immune to the challenge.
The post Name that plague! [quiz] appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Kathleen O'Dell,
on 11/1/2010
When I get down about our modern world, I'll remember to refer to my recent research on Europe in the fourteenth century. No sooner were the famines over (a period when some resorted to cannibalism) than the plagues came. (Smallpox is pictured above.) I'm currently attempting to incorporate real-world atmosphere into an old fairy tale and finding that the abominations of reality are eclipsing the wonders of the tale. I'm actually considering creating an all-out horror story! My only concern is that I'll have produced something appropriate for kids 9-12. It's strong stuff, but fascinating...
By: Laurie Halse Anderson,
on 3/18/2008
Doc says I have the flu.
I suspect he's right. I also suspect I have a touch of bubonic plague and more than a little yellow fever as well. I'm taking the medicine he ordered and trying hard not to groan too loudly.
More good news about TWISTED came in, but it hurts to type so I will tell you tomorrow. Assuming tomorrow comes.
Tell me something funny. Please. I'm begging.
By: Ben Zimmer,
on 8/9/2007
When people consult a dictionary, they expect to find entries defining individual words, compounds made up of two or more words, and common multi-word phrases. But what about when a frequently occurring phrase or compound is used as a blueprint for generating new concoctions, with some parts kept constant and other parts swapped out? Last week I discussed some simple two-word “templates” that allow for creative choices in filling one slot, such as ___ chic, inner ___, and ___ rage. In such cases, lexicographers can make a note of a particularly productive usage in the entry for the word that is kept constant (like chic, inner, or rage). Things get a little more complicated when we consider longer phrases that follow a similar pattern of substitution. Traditional dictionary entries aren’t always well-equipped to describe this type of “phrase-hacking.” But one thing becomes quite obvious when looking at a large corpus of online texts (whether it’s the Oxford English Corpus or the rough-and-ready corpus of webpages indexed by Google or another search engine): writers are fiddling with phrasal templates all the time, revivifying expressions that may have become too formulaic or hackneyed. Of course, there’s always a lurking danger that the constant modification of a cliché may itself ultimately become a cliché!
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