CINXE.COM
Blog Excerpts - : Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus
<html xmlns:vcom xmlns:vtcom> <head> <title>Blog Excerpts - : Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus</title> <meta name="description" content="Visual Thesaurus Magazine section Blog Excerpts, " /> <meta name="author" content ="Thinkmap, Inc." /> <meta name="robots" content="noarchive" /> <meta name="GOOGLEBOT" content="NOODP,NOARCHIVE" /> <link href="//d1r3b8xpnlyvar.cloudfront.net/css/base-9v1thl.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" > <link href="//d1r3b8xpnlyvar.cloudfront.net/css/subpage-130ykl9.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" > <link href="//d1r3b8xpnlyvar.cloudfront.net/css/print-dao9t3.css" rel="stylesheet" media="print" type="text/css" > <script src="//d1r3b8xpnlyvar.cloudfront.net/js/module-1ypv52v.js" type="text/javascript" ></script> <script>Module.use(['base','vtcom/vtloader/vtloader']);</script> <link href="//d1r3b8xpnlyvar.cloudfront.net/css/story-1dk6xuz.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" > <link href="//d1r3b8xpnlyvar.cloudfront.net/favicon-dos9ku.ico" rel="shortcut icon" > <style type="text/css"> @font-face { font-family: din-regular; src: url("/fonts/DINWeb.eot"); } @font-face { font-family: din-regular; src: url("/fonts/DINWeb.woff") format("woff"); } @font-face { font-family: din-medium; src: url("/fonts/DINWeb-Medium.eot"); } @font-face { font-family: din-medium; src: url("/fonts/DINWeb-Medium.woff") format("woff"); } @font-face { font-family: din-bold; src: url("/fonts/DINWeb-Bold.eot"); } @font-face { font-family: din-bold; src: url("/fonts/DINWeb-Bold.woff") format("woff"); } </style> </head> <body class="subpage section home"> <div id="rootContainer"> <div id="root"> <div id="vtsContainer"></div> <div id="pageHeader"> <div id="headerBar" class="png"> <a href="/"><img src="//d1r3b8xpnlyvar.cloudfront.net/images/common/header/logo-icon-4n9afg.png" width="40" id="vtLogoIcon" class="png" height="40" ></a> <a href="/"><img src="//d1r3b8xpnlyvar.cloudfront.net/images/common/header/logo-npghhk.png" width="202" alt="Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus" id="vtLogo" class="png" height="38" ></a> </div> <div id="headerSpacer"></div> <div id="navTop"><ul> <li class=" selected"><a href="/">HOME</a></li> <li class=""><a href="/howitworks/">HOW IT WORKS</a></li> <li class=""><a href="/store/">SUBSCRIBE</a></li> <li class=""><a href="/praise/">PRAISE</a></li> <li class=""><a href="/sales/">INSTITUTIONAL SALES</a></li> <li class=""><a href="/educators/">EDUCATORS</a></li> <li class="last "><a href="/support/">SUPPORT</a></li> </ul><div class="clearer"></div></div> </div> <div id="pageBody"><table id="mainTable" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td id="leftContent"> </td> <td id="centerContent"><div id="pageContent"> <div class="pageheader"> <h2 class="webfont sectionname large">Blog Excerpts</h2> </div> <div class="articles"> <div class="hr"><hr/></div> <div class="lead"><div class="story"> <a name="4838"></a> <div class="content"> <div class="header"><h3 class="headline"><a href="/cm/blogexcerpts/for-presidents-day-where-did-president-come-from-anyway/">For Presidents' Day: Where Did "President" Come From Anyway?</a><div class="dateline">February 15, 2016</div></div> <div class="abstract"> As the United States celebrates Presidents' Day, it's a good time to mull over how we ended up calling the national leader "president" in the first place. Executive editor Ben Zimmer spoke to <a href="http://www.npr.org/2016/02/15/466848438/why-president-how-the-u-s-named-its-leader" target="_blank">NPR's All Things Considered</a> about the term's history. <a href="/cm/blogexcerpts/for-presidents-day-where-did-president-come-from-anyway/" class="readMore">Continue reading...</a> </div> <div class="clearer"></div> </div> <div class="topics"> <h5 class="webfont related">Article Topics:</h5> <div> <a href="/topics/Word Origins/" title="Read other articles about Word Origins">Word Origins,</a> <a href="/topics/Politics/" title="Read other articles about Politics">Politics,</a> <a href="/topics/Words/" title="Read other articles about Words">Words</a> </div> </div> </div></div> <div class="hr"><hr/></div> <div class="archive"><div class="story"> <a name="4816"></a> <div class="content"> <div class="header"><h3 class="headline">Happy Thesaurus Day!<div class="dateline">January 18, 2016</div></div> <div class="abstract"> January 18th is celebrated as Thesaurus Day to honor the birthday of the author of the first thesaurus, Peter Mark Roget. Get into the spirit by reading our two-part interview with Roget biographer Joshua Kendall <a href="/cm/wc/roget-the-man-the-mind-the-thesaurus/">here</a> and <a href="/cm/wc/rogets-legacy-thesaurus-as-tool-thesaurus-as-crutch/">here</a>. Also check out an ode to the thesaurus penned by Franklin P. Adams <a href="/cm/blogexcerpts/to-a-thesaurus/">here</a> and Johnny Carson's hilarious "Funeral for a Thesaurus Editor" sketch <a href="/cm/wordroutes/are-you-esurient-for-new-words/">here</a>. </div> <div class="clearer"></div> </div> <div class="topics"> <h5 class="webfont related">Article Topics:</h5> <div> <a href="/topics/Fun/" title="Read other articles about Fun">Fun,</a> <a href="/topics/Language/" title="Read other articles about Language">Language</a> </div> </div> </div></div> <div class="hr"><hr/></div> <div class="archive"><div class="story"> <a name="4742"></a> <div class="content"> <div class="header"><h3 class="headline"><a href="/cm/blogexcerpts/the-troubled-history-of-refugee/">The Troubled History of "Refugee"</a><div class="dateline">September 16, 2015</div></div> <div class="abstract"> On Minnesota Public Radio, our executive editor Ben Zimmer explored the problematic history of the word <em>refugee</em>, now frequently heard in media accounts of the European migration crisis. <a href="/cm/blogexcerpts/the-troubled-history-of-refugee/" class="readMore">Continue reading...</a> </div> <div class="clearer"></div> </div> <div class="topics"> <h5 class="webfont related">Article Topics:</h5> <div> <a href="/topics/Usage/" title="Read other articles about Usage">Usage,</a> <a href="/topics/Words/" title="Read other articles about Words">Words,</a> <a href="/topics/Politics/" title="Read other articles about Politics">Politics</a> </div> </div> </div></div> <div class="hr"><hr/></div> <div class="archive"><div class="story"> <a name="4730"></a> <div class="content"> <div class="header"><h3 class="headline">Celebrating Labor (and Labour) Day<div class="dateline">September 4, 2015</div></div> <div class="abstract"> On the first Monday in September, the United States observes Labor Day, while Canadians celebrate Labour Day. If you want to know why <em>labour</em> is the accepted spelling in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries like Canada, while Americans prefer <em>labor</em> (and <em>color</em>, <em>favor</em>, <em>honor</em>, <em>humor</em>, and <em>neighbor</em>), check out <a href="/cm/wordroutes/why-americans-celebrate-labor-and-not-labour-day/">this classic Word Routes column</a> by Ben Zimmer. </div> <div class="clearer"></div> </div> <div class="topics"> <h5 class="webfont related">Article Topics:</h5> <div> <a href="/topics/Words/" title="Read other articles about Words">Words</a> </div> </div> </div></div> <div class="hr"><hr/></div> <div class="archive"><div class="story"> <a name="4712"></a> <div class="content"> <div class="header"><h3 class="headline"><a href="/cm/blogexcerpts/how-hard-is-it-to-conquer-scrabble-in-another-language/">How Hard is it to Conquer Scrabble in Another Language?</a><div class="dateline">August 6, 2015</div></div> <div class="abstract"> When English-language Scrabble champ Nigel Richards, who does not speak French, won a French-language Scrabble championship, analysts rushed to analyze how much memorization that actually entailed. Ben Zimmer explains that to get a full understanding of Richards' achievement, a simple counting of words in the dictionary only gives a partial picture. <a href="/cm/blogexcerpts/how-hard-is-it-to-conquer-scrabble-in-another-language/" class="readMore">Continue reading...</a> </div> <div class="clearer"></div> </div> <div class="topics"> <h5 class="webfont related">Article Topics:</h5> <div> <a href="/topics/Fun/" title="Read other articles about Fun">Fun,</a> <a href="/topics/Language/" title="Read other articles about Language">Language</a> </div> </div> </div></div> <div class="hr"><hr/></div> <div class="archive"><div class="story"> <a name="4663"></a> <div class="content"> <div class="header"><h3 class="headline"><a href="/cm/blogexcerpts/the-2015-spelling-bee-is-on/">The 2015 Spelling Bee Is On!</a><div class="dateline">May 28, 2015</div></div> <div class="abstract"> It's time once again for the nationally televised semifinals and finals of The Scripps National Spelling Bee! As in past years, our own Ben Zimmer will be live-tweeting the competition from the <a href="https://twitter.com/vocabularycom">@VocabularyCom</a> Twitter account and reporting on the results here in his Word Routes column. <a href="/cm/blogexcerpts/the-2015-spelling-bee-is-on/" class="readMore">Continue reading...</a> </div> <div class="clearer"></div> </div> </div></div> <div class="hr"><hr/></div> <div class="archive"><div class="story"> <a name="4625"></a> <div class="content"> <div class="header"><h3 class="headline"><a href="/cm/blogexcerpts/ben-zimmer-at-aces-on-the-joys-of-getting-it-right/">Ben Zimmer at ACES on "the Joys of Getting It Right"</a><div class="dateline">March 31, 2015</div></div> <div class="abstract"> As keynote speaker at the 2015 American Copy Editors Society meeting, lexicographer Ben Zimmer showed off the resources in the Vocabulary.com Dictionary as part of a talk on "Nitpickery, Debunkage, and the Joys of Getting It Right." Not surprisingly, ACES attendees live-tweeting the address were more likely to take note of Zimmer's singing, rapping, and discussion of language anachronisms in "Mad Men" and "Downton Abbey." <a href="/cm/blogexcerpts/ben-zimmer-at-aces-on-the-joys-of-getting-it-right/" class="readMore">Continue reading...</a> </div> <div class="clearer"></div> </div> <div class="topics"> <h5 class="webfont related">Article Topics:</h5> <div> <a href="/topics/Fun/" title="Read other articles about Fun">Fun,</a> <a href="/topics/Language/" title="Read other articles about Language">Language,</a> <a href="/topics/Writing/" title="Read other articles about Writing">Writing</a> </div> </div> </div></div> </div> <div class="pager bottom"> <div class="hr"><hr/></div> <div class="content"> <img src="//d1r3b8xpnlyvar.cloudfront.net/images/common/prevpage-ju3vpi.gif" width="13" class="disabled" height="13" > <span class="pageNumbers"> <span> 1</span> <a href="/cm/blogexcerpts/?page=2">2</a> <a href="/cm/blogexcerpts/?page=3">3</a> <a href="/cm/blogexcerpts/?page=4">4</a> <a href="/cm/blogexcerpts/?page=5">5</a></span> <a href="/cm/blogexcerpts/?page=2"><img src="//d1r3b8xpnlyvar.cloudfront.net/images/common/nextpage-2f57wx.gif" width="13" height="13" ></a> <span class="pageProgressNote">Displaying 1-7 of 493 Articles</span> </div> <div class="hr"><hr/></div> </div> </div></td> <td id="rightContent"><img src="//d1r3b8xpnlyvar.cloudfront.net/images/sectionheads/blogexcerpts-1q6drf3.jpg" class="pagehead" > <div class="rightNav"> <h2 class="webfont rnavhead">Other Departments:</h2> </div></td> </tr> </table></div> <div id="pageFooter"> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.thinkmap.com" class="thinkmapButton" ><img src="//d1r3b8xpnlyvar.cloudfront.net/images/common/thinkmapfooter-ceqlbg.gif" width="95" height="35" ></a> <div class="bottomNav"> <a href="/aboutus/">About Us</a> <a href="/affiliates/">Become an Affiliate</a> <a href="/licensing/">Technology Licensing</a> <a href="/contributors/">Contributors</a> <a href="/support/contactus/">Contact Us</a> <span class="copyright">Copyright ©1998-2024 Thinkmap, Inc. All Rights Reserved.</span> <a target="_blank" href="/terms/">Terms of Use</a> </div> </div> <div id="loginContainer" class="signin" ><script>var loginData = { 'isSubdomain':false, 'validUser':false, 'signOut': function() { document.location.href='/auth/logout'; return false; }, 'signIn': function(success) { if (window.LoginControl) { window.scroll(0,0);LoginControl.open(); } else { if (!success) success = document.location.pathname+document.location.search+document.location.hash; document.location.href='/login/?success='+escape(success); } return false; } }; function createWordlist(isBee) { var href='/wordlists/newfull'; var type ="word list"; if (isBee) { href+='?bee=true'; type="spelling bee" } if (loginData.hasProfile) { document.location.href=href; } else { var message='You must be signed in to create a '+type+'. Would you like to sign in now?'; if (loginData.hasLogin) { message ='Your subscription and/or login does not support creating '+type+'s. Would you like to sign in as a different user?'; } if (confirm(message)) { loginData.signIn(href); } } return false; } </script> <div class="panel" id="loginPanel1"> <div id="loginPanel1Message">Already a Subscriber?</div> <a href="/login" id="loginPanel1Link" title="sign in here" ><img src="//d1r3b8xpnlyvar.cloudfront.net/images/login/signinbutton-1n4hitm.gif" alt="Sign In" id="loginPanel1Button" ></a> </div> <script>Module.use('vtcom/login/login');</script> <div id="loginBg" class="png"> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="clearer"></div> <script> Module.after(['base', 'vtcom/vtloader/vtloader'], function(){ try { DOM.whenReady(function(){ VisualThesaurus.instance = new VisualThesaurus(false,true); top.VisualThesaurus = VisualThesaurus; if (window.launchvt) VisualThesaurus.instance.params.launch="true"; }); } catch (e) {} }); </script> <script>Module.use('vtcom/vtloader/vtembed');</script> <script>Module.after(['jquery'], function(){ jQuery(function($){ setInterval( function() { jQuery.post('/keepalive.json', {}) .done(function(res) { if (!res) document.location.href = '/'; }) .fail(function(){}); }, 1 * 60 * 1000 ); }); });</script> <script src="https://ssl.google-analytics.com/ga.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script> var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-154986-1"); pageTracker._trackPageview(); </script> </body> </html>