Webster, Noah, xi, 2-3, 31, 303
Webster’s New International Dictionary of the English Language, Second Edition, Unabridged. See Webster’s Second
Webster’s New International Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition. See Webster’s Third
Webster’s New World, 196, 237
Webster’s Second
biographical information in, 133–34
criticisms of, by Philip Gove, 171–77
defense of, by William Allan Neilson, 89–94
definition style and format in, 210–11
Editorial Board procedures for, 175–77
encyclopedic information in, 174–75
journalistic entry in, 145–46, 176–77
literary quotations in, 207
William Allan Neilson as editor for, 1–2, 59–60 (see also Neilson, William Allan)
pronunciations in, 5, 189–90, 232–33
publication of, xi, 1–7
special addendum of, 159–61
Webster’s Third
criticisms of, 241–50, 255–62, 273–82, 291–94, 296–98
defenses of, 283–85, 296–98
development of this book about, xii–xiv
Philip Gove as editor for, 11–14, 171–177, 229–33 (see also Gove, Philip B.)
lexicographical production procedures for, 199–212
planning for, 134–36
positive reviews of, 267–72, 273, 288, 294–95
press release announcing, 9–11
pronunciations in, 189–97
sales of, 16, 193, 195–97, 263
search for editor for, 141, 143–48
statistics about, 241–50
W. Freeman Twaddell as resident editor for, 163–65
Weeks, Edward, 288–89
Weidman, Victor, 192–93, 195
Wheeler, Dinsmore, 39–43, 63–65
Wheeler, William, 174–75
Who Killed Grammar? (book), 184–87
whom, 119
Whyte, William H., 214
will and shall. See shall and will
Wilson, Edmund, 35, 103
wise suffix, 247
witch hunt, 159
women, education of, 19–21, 58, 139
Worcester, Joseph, 4, 289
Word Study (newsletter), 230, 274, 275–276
world wars, 91–92, 102, 123–31
wrath, 91
writers, Federal Writers Project for, 96
Yale University, 4, 39–41, 52–53
About the Author
DAVID SKINNER is a writer and editor living in Alexandria, Virginia. He writes about language, culture, and his life as a husband, father, and suburbanite. He has been a staff editor at the Weekly Standard, for which he still writes, and an editor of Doublethink magazine. He has written for the Wall Street Journal, the New Atlantis, Slate, the Washington Times, the American Spectator, and many other publications. Skinner is the editor of Humanities magazine, which is published by the National Endowment for the Humanities, and is on the usage panel for the American Heritage Dictionary.
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Credits
Cover photographs courtesy of Merriam-Webster Inc. (Merriam-Webster.com)
Cover design by Milan Bozic
Copyright
THE STORY OF AIN’T. Copyright © 2012 by David Skinner. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
FIRST EDITION
EPub Edition © OCTOBER 2012 ISBN: 9780062218094
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ISBN: 978-0-06-202746-7
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