The Word Detective
A Life in Words: From Serendipity to Selfie
$25.52
- Paperback
384 pages
- Release Date
10 July 2017
Summary
Language is always changing. No one knows where it is going, but the best way to future-cast is to look at the past. John Simpson animates for us a tradition of researching and editing, showing us both the technical lexicography needed to understand a word, and the careful poetry needed to construct its definition. He challenges both the idea that dictionaries are definitive and the notion that language is falling apart. With a sense of humour, an ability to laugh at bureaucracy and an inclin…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780349141008 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 0349141002 |
| Author: | John Simpson |
| Publisher: | Little, Brown Book Group |
| Imprint: | Abacus |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 384 |
| Release Date: | 10 July 2017 |
| Weight: | 300g |
| Dimensions: | 198mm x 128mm x 26mm |
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Critics Review
A perfect title. According to the OED, a Sherlock is someone “who investigates mysteries or shows great perceptiveness”. This aptly summarizes Sherlock Simpson, who tells the inside story of how that great dictionary has come to be written, illustrated by illuminating and sometimes daring word histories, and grounded in an engaging and moving autobiography. Anyone fascinated by words and their history will love it
A charmingly full, frank and humorous account of a career dedicated to rigorous lexicographic rectitude … [Simpson] is an absolute hero - International New York TimesA compelling tribute to the wonder of language - GuardianPoignant … a sustained and sincere reflection on what it means to make a dictionary - the toil, the puzzles, the costs and the profits - GuardianAbout The Author
John Simpson
The author was Chief Editor of the OED and worked on the Dictionary for 37 years.
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