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Erin McKean on dictionary publicity
Dec 10, 2007
Erin McKean, Gel 2006 speaker, in the NYT today:
“There are very few good ways to get publicity for a dictionary,” said Erin McKean, a lexicographer at Oxford. While publishers can rely on coverage for new entries in just-published dictionaries, some reference books go for as long as a decade between revisions. “We are constantly surveilling the language to see what new words people are coming up with,” Ms. McKean said.
Reminder that this Wednesday, December 12, is the LAST DAY to get Gel 2008 tickets at the current price.
Somehow "publicity" and "dictionary" never came together in my mind in one sentence before this...
"Surveilling" - that's a good one right there. I've long favored profuse usages, even when they lead to improbable verbal imbroglios.
Personally, I feel that "fisticuffs" and "brouhaha" should get a lot more press.