"Google’s income shifting -- involving strategies known to lawyers as the “Double Irish” and the “Dutch Sandwich” -- helped reduce its overseas tax rate to 2.4 percent, the lowest of the top five U.S. technology companies by market capitalization, according to regulatory filings in six countries." Bloomberg Businessweek
"So, I propose the term “dangerism” to describe how a culture decides what is and isn’t dangerous. The sources of dangerism can be traced to both personal and social sources. Our individual perception of risk is based on a combination of personal experiences and family history. The cultural aspects of dangerism are probably best described by anthropologists, but the popular news media certainly plays a part in creating exaggerated portrayals of risk." —Gever Tulley, Dangerism
The musician Brian Eno invented a wonderful word to describe this phenomenon: scenius. We normally think of innovators as independent geniuses, but Eno’s point is that innovation comes from social scenes, from passionate and connected groups of people. Wired October 2010
Dear agatehinge -- the Allen data is still there -- we have just mixed it in with data from other sources, so that everything can be seen at once. (I promise you it is there as I did part of the tedious process of putting it into the new data structure ...)
Dear agatehinge, thanks for the feedback! Very important for us to hear from folks who aren't happy, as well.
We are working to add in more related words, and more relationships, so I hope you check back soon. If there are specific words you think may be missing, please let us know so we can check to see if they dropped behind someone's desk. :-)
Enantiosemy, or the occurrence of two opposite meanings for one and the same word, was first treated in special monographs by the Arabian grammarians, ....
In the interesting and suggestive introduction (pp. 10-30) Dr. Landau examines the various attempts at an explanation of the problem from a linguistic, logical and psychological standpoint. He himself ascribes the enantiosemy to nine factors: 1) objective reasons which are inherent in the things themselves (i. e., an object may be viewed and described from opposite sides), 2) polarity of certain ideas which are thus subject to differentiation, 3) present phonetic identity of originally phonetic variation, 4) contrast of association of ideas, 5) the tropical nature of language. For the Semitic languages in particular: 6) lack of compounds and abundance of denominatives, 7) the tendency of the Orientals to wit and irony, 8) our imperfect knowledge of the Oriental mode of thinking, and 9) the difference between the Orientals and Occidentals in the manner of expression. From The American journal of Semitic languages and literatures, Volume 13
Well, it might be hard to get Grant to work on Wordie, since he's now working down in San Diego for someone else ... but John's still here and working hard!
The next big goal, sitewise, is to make it easier for people to contribute in fun and interesting ways. I'm not sure if definitions are the way to go, but we'll be testing all sorts of different things, for sure.
Our goal for Wordnik is still the same: all the words, and everything about them. It's a big goal, but we'll get there ...
"We derive from this a certain lack of confidence in government data and a suspicion of ansercide (slaying of ducks and geese, cf. arborcide, the wanton murder of trees - see NY Times, 7/15/10" NYCivic
Hi Hernesheir! We don't do that in a systematic way now, but it's in the Master Plan. If this is something you'd like to see, nag us often -- that moves things further up the list. :-)
The Zany Carter Deluxe (ZCD) is the official drink of MR. Side effects include euphoria AND depression, also a high risk of coming unstuck from you present spot in the space-time continuum. MobileRead Advice for Newbies
"Note to fellow journalists: Iceland is laughing at us. The evidence is in an article on an Icelandic Web site headlined simply, “Múhaha,” discussing our inability to pronounce the name of their volcano, Eyjafjallajökull (that’s “AYA-fyatla-jo-kutl,” according to NASA ... " The Lede
Hi ... Okay, I can't actually bring myself to type your username, out of sheer modesty, but a quick update. We're re-ranking examples now and should have a new batch up soonish, which should de-emphasize some of the not-so-good examples, and get rid of the server-hiccup problem which created the "invisible word" examples where the word doesn't actually appear in the example given.
Hi bilby! There's no age limit (upper or lower) for Wordnik, although we don't recommend it to young children (simply because we can't guarantee that they won't see -- ahem -- grown-up words).
Of course, the usual rules for young children in places frequented by grownups also apply here at Wordnik: behave nicely, no tantrums, and make sure your hands are clean before you touch anything.
That's a really good point -- what would you all suggest we add to the FAQ to make it clearer or more helpful?
And another idea -- does somebody want to volunteer to do a guest blog post from the point of view of a Wordienik? We'd *love* that! Then we could point people at it, as well as to the FAQ.
Hi gangerh! I sent you an email, but am also leaving you a comment in case my email was spaminated ... can I entice you into giving me a quote or two about sweet tooth fairies? I'm hoping to write about them for the Boston Globe.
"the act of pulling the car door handle at precisely the same instant that driver is attempting to unlock the door, thus nullifying the unlock action." from Joe Posnanski
Hey Sionnach, I understand your disappointment ... I do want to point out though that the goal we're working towards with Wordnik is not necessarily to have *definitions* for every word, but to have examples ... I wrote something for the NYT a couple weeks ago about the relative helpfulness of definitions -- it's here, and might help define (sorry, couldn't help myself) part of what we're working towards.
Ooh, somebody noticed! We loaded a lot of "sound effects" pronunciations at the appropriate words a while back -- beep is probably my favorite. I like to imagine that it was recorded by Harpo Marx. (Note: it was not recorded by Harpo Marx.)
We have a big blog post on the Wordnik statistics here: Carbonated Frequencies. It's a little out of date (we fixed some of the known weirdnesses mentioned).
Right now we have a bit of a frequency "hole" for the 1970s and 1980s that we're working to fill with more data. We'll give updates as we have 'em!
In "Murder Must Advertise," Whifflers were those who participated in Wimsey's advertising scheme for Whifflets cigarettes -- "Whiffling Round Britain". "The great Whifflers' Club practically founded itself, and Whifflers who had formed attachments while Whiffling in company, secured special Whifflet coupons entitling them to a Whifflet wedding with a Whifflet cake and their photographs in the papers."
Hey guys, thanks for your comments. We do read them all and I promise we take them seriously.
We do have a BHAG, which is (as John pointed out below) to be the most information about the most words for the benefit of the most people, ever. We're not nearly there yet ... but that's the goal.
The main thrust of the next few months will be to improve & expand our examples & statistics (I'd love for 'vexample' to eventually be tagged "archaic" or "dated"!) while improving the rest of the experience of the site ... which also includes the Random word function, which is slated for discussion on Monday. :-)
I can't promise that we'll act on every suggestion -- in fact, with such a small team, we can't -- but I can promise that we will always listen. You guys all know our first names, and we're all firstname@wordnik.com, so feel free to email us directly, as well as leave comments.
Hey Prolagus, we've got some song lyrics in the example-sentences queue. I'll let you know when they're live -- we're working out some formatting issues.
Hi -- leaving a comment here as I wanted to respond to Prolagus's note below, about us "trying to make the entries better for less-humorous uses". We really do like the humorous uses, I promise, and we often call across the office to each other to point out new and great ones, but there is a limit to how many vexamples folks are willing to put up with, even if they do spark some good jokes.
I'll comment more over on wordnik about "What's a Wordnik for" ...
Prolagus, sorry about that. I wish we could keep all the vexamples and suchlike for their riffing potential, but we are trying to make the entries better for less-humorous uses ...
VanishedOne, we'll get that other stuff cleaned up! Thanks!
Thanks! We kicked the pronunciation server and it should have finished its coffee break and be working again ... feel free to let us know at http://www.wordnik.com/people/feedback if it happens again!
The original Wordnik mandate had an implied "English" in there ... so "All the (English) words." We'll get to all the other languages eventually, provided they form an orderly queue. :-)
whichbe, rest assured all the lists are extant, we just have to run around re-attaching the hoses to the right intake valves. Or something like that ... we'll have another update in the next few days, I hope by Wednesday.
Dear Prolagus, there's no such thing as too much feedback or feedback given too early. We really appreciate your taking the time to make suggestions! :-)
Oh, telofy -- shoot, that bug (adding a new list, then a new word, then ... boom) is one we thought we caught. It's high on the list to fix. We're also working on those IPA problems -- we're about to get a newer, cleaner data source for those.
Prolagus, I'll see what we can do about your missing upper-case P. I think we have some extras around here we can swap in. :-) And we are planning on eventually letting you "hide" words from your public lookup history at some point!
I also wanted to pop in here and say that for 99% percent of Wordies, your Wordie username should work at Wordnik, you just have to reset your password (with this link: http://www.wordnik.com/user/forgot). If your username DOESN'T work (that is, if you lost the arm-wrestle for that username to another user on the Wordnik site), you'll get an email with your new username, which will be super-whateveryourusernamewas. You'll also have to reset your password.
Some Wordniks lost the username-contest to stronger and craftier Wordies; they will also have to assume the burden of superness and reset their passwords.
If we were pretty sure you were the same person on Wordie and Wordnik (same username, same or suspiciously similar email addresses) we merged the accounts. If we messed up and you are now living with a stranger, let us know ASAP! (It was only a few folks, so we hope we got it right!)
"A program that generates a copy of its own source text as its complete output. Devising the shortest possible quine in some given programming language is a common hackish amusement."
Comments by erinmckean
Show previous 200 comments...
erinmckean commented on the word Dutch Sandwich
"Google’s income shifting -- involving strategies known to lawyers as the “Double Irish” and the “Dutch Sandwich” -- helped reduce its overseas tax rate to 2.4 percent, the lowest of the top five U.S. technology companies by market capitalization, according to regulatory filings in six countries." Bloomberg Businessweek
October 21, 2010
erinmckean commented on the word dangerism
"So, I propose the term “dangerism” to describe how a culture decides what is and isn’t dangerous. The sources of dangerism can be traced to both personal and social sources. Our individual perception of risk is based on a combination of personal experiences and family history. The cultural aspects of dangerism are probably best described by anthropologists, but the popular news media certainly plays a part in creating exaggerated portrayals of risk." —Gever Tulley, Dangerism
October 20, 2010
erinmckean commented on the word scenius
The musician Brian Eno invented a wonderful word to describe this phenomenon: scenius. We normally think of innovators as independent geniuses, but Eno’s point is that innovation comes from social scenes, from passionate and connected groups of people. Wired October 2010
October 3, 2010
erinmckean commented on the word coffice
Coffices–Coffee Shops for Working BrooklynBased.net
September 28, 2010
erinmckean commented on the word pwaft
See the discussion here.
September 22, 2010
erinmckean commented on the user feedback
Dear agatehinge -- the Allen data is still there -- we have just mixed it in with data from other sources, so that everything can be seen at once. (I promise you it is there as I did part of the tedious process of putting it into the new data structure ...)
Thanks!
Erin
September 16, 2010
erinmckean commented on the user feedback
Dear agatehinge, thanks for the feedback! Very important for us to hear from folks who aren't happy, as well.
We are working to add in more related words, and more relationships, so I hope you check back soon. If there are specific words you think may be missing, please let us know so we can check to see if they dropped behind someone's desk. :-)
Thanks again!
Erin
September 16, 2010
erinmckean commented on the word enantiosemy
Enantiosemy, or the occurrence of two opposite meanings for one and the same word, was first treated in special monographs by the Arabian grammarians, ....
In the interesting and suggestive introduction (pp. 10-30) Dr. Landau examines the various attempts at an explanation of the problem from a linguistic, logical and psychological standpoint. He himself ascribes the enantiosemy to nine factors: 1) objective reasons which are inherent in the things themselves (i. e., an object may be viewed and described from opposite sides), 2) polarity of certain ideas which are thus subject to differentiation, 3) present phonetic identity of originally phonetic variation, 4) contrast of association of ideas, 5) the tropical nature of language. For the Semitic languages in particular: 6) lack of compounds and abundance of denominatives, 7) the tendency of the Orientals to wit and irony, 8) our imperfect knowledge of the Oriental mode of thinking, and 9) the difference between the Orientals and Occidentals in the manner of expression. From The American journal of Semitic languages and literatures, Volume 13
September 3, 2010
erinmckean commented on the user erinmckean
Hi Mollusque!
Well, it might be hard to get Grant to work on Wordie, since he's now working down in San Diego for someone else ... but John's still here and working hard!
The next big goal, sitewise, is to make it easier for people to contribute in fun and interesting ways. I'm not sure if definitions are the way to go, but we'll be testing all sorts of different things, for sure.
Our goal for Wordnik is still the same: all the words, and everything about them. It's a big goal, but we'll get there ...
Thanks!
Erin
September 2, 2010
erinmckean commented on the user feedback
Thanks telofy! Fixed now.
August 23, 2010
erinmckean commented on the word erinnophily
"Erinnophily - the study of commemorative labels." From http://www.junior-philatelists.com/terms.htm
August 1, 2010
erinmckean commented on the list you-must-be-joking
Oh duh! Dor! Thanks ruzuzu!
July 26, 2010
erinmckean commented on the word gunate
Thanks, membender! I cleaned up the examples.
July 19, 2010
erinmckean commented on the word synformy
(The) visual or acoustic similarity of lexical forms which may cause learners to
confuse similar words. PDF link
July 19, 2010
erinmckean commented on the word ansercide
"We derive from this a certain lack of confidence in government data and a suspicion of ansercide (slaying of ducks and geese, cf. arborcide, the wanton murder of trees - see NY Times, 7/15/10" NYCivic
July 19, 2010
erinmckean commented on the user feedback
Hi Hernesheir! We don't do that in a systematic way now, but it's in the Master Plan. If this is something you'd like to see, nag us often -- that moves things further up the list. :-)
July 8, 2010
erinmckean commented on the word Zany Carter
The Zany Carter Deluxe (ZCD) is the official drink of MR. Side effects include euphoria AND depression, also a high risk of coming unstuck from you present spot in the space-time continuum. MobileRead Advice for Newbies
July 5, 2010
erinmckean commented on the list fruits-of-linguistic-invention
Fruitful new coinages.
June 28, 2010
erinmckean commented on the word by enlarge
An eggcorn for "by and large".
June 14, 2010
erinmckean commented on the list woulda--coulda--shoulda
I think gimme and lemme qualify! I'll add 'em.
June 11, 2010
erinmckean commented on the word amdram
short for "amateur dramatics"
June 6, 2010
erinmckean commented on the word portmanqué
Coined by Rob Walker here: http://www.murketing.com/journal/?p=2335
June 1, 2010
erinmckean commented on the list the-decemberists
Hi Emily! I think "hescher" is more commonly spelled hesher. *Great* list.
May 28, 2010
erinmckean commented on the word Klondike plague
"Already he was showing the early signs of "Klondike Plague": scurvy."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704635204575242752100852566.html
May 21, 2010
erinmckean commented on the word nerled
ill-treated, as if by a stepmother
May 14, 2010
erinmckean commented on the list wordniks-who-proudly-contribute-worthless-stuff--a-lot-of-dumb-comments--and-useless-words-to-the-zeitgeist-page
I would like to be an honorary member of this fine company. Is there a Junior Birdman division?
April 20, 2010
erinmckean commented on the list knee-ded-words
Aw, thanks!
I can attest that John seems to be doing better. He's down to one crutch on occasion, even. :-)
April 20, 2010
erinmckean commented on the word ostentatiatory
An ornate room to show off one's wealth or power. (Jim Butcher)
April 19, 2010
erinmckean commented on the word Eyjafjallajökull
"Note to fellow journalists: Iceland is laughing at us. The evidence is in an article on an Icelandic Web site headlined simply, “Múhaha,” discussing our inability to pronounce the name of their volcano, Eyjafjallajökull (that’s “AYA-fyatla-jo-kutl,” according to NASA ... " The Lede
April 17, 2010
erinmckean commented on the word pelrollock
an ill-dressed, worn-out looking woman
April 12, 2010
erinmckean commented on the word semiopathy
So at the end of last year, when we coined the term semiopathy—the phenomenon of reading inappropriate emotions into signs—dozens of readers discovered that they were semiopathologists. http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg17323356.700-feedback.html
April 12, 2010
erinmckean commented on the word knilb
"Knilb" - pronounced with a silent k - is his word for briefly opening your eyes and then closing them again, maybe to check when you wake if it is time to get up yet. http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg18825263.100-feedback.html'>http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg18825263.100-feedback.html
April 12, 2010
erinmckean commented on the word bouquiniste
a seller of second-hand books
April 11, 2010
erinmckean commented on the word maquereau
in the sense of "a pimp", also "mackerel"
April 11, 2010
erinmckean commented on the word cellar saver
a disparaging slang term for a volunteer fireman
April 5, 2010
erinmckean commented on the user feedback
Thanks, possibleunderscore! I cleaned it up.
April 4, 2010
erinmckean commented on the list we-have-both-kinds--country-and-western
Send me some links to mp3s? :-)
March 31, 2010
erinmckean commented on the word hegan
A male vegan.
March 26, 2010
erinmckean commented on the list superlative-words
Oh, thank you sionnach! That's a good one!
March 22, 2010
erinmckean commented on the list words-stephenie-meyer-overuses
Is it fair to say she overuses the word vampire in a book about a vampire? :-)
Otherwise this list made me chuckle. While I deliberately smolder in my aloof, yet scintillating and graceful, way.
March 20, 2010
erinmckean commented on the list cricket
So this will be an open cricket list, but check those lists out too!
March 16, 2010
erinmckean commented on the list cricket
Also bilby's Sportie: Cricket
March 16, 2010
erinmckean commented on the list cricket
Wait, gangerh's list is better: I Don't Like Cricket, I Love It
March 16, 2010
erinmckean commented on the user feedback
Hi ... Okay, I can't actually bring myself to type your username, out of sheer modesty, but a quick update. We're re-ranking examples now and should have a new batch up soonish, which should de-emphasize some of the not-so-good examples, and get rid of the server-hiccup problem which created the "invisible word" examples where the word doesn't actually appear in the example given.
Thanks!
March 5, 2010
erinmckean commented on the user feedback
Hi bilby! There's no age limit (upper or lower) for Wordnik, although we don't recommend it to young children (simply because we can't guarantee that they won't see -- ahem -- grown-up words).
Of course, the usual rules for young children in places frequented by grownups also apply here at Wordnik: behave nicely, no tantrums, and make sure your hands are clean before you touch anything.
February 22, 2010
erinmckean commented on the user feedback
That's a really good point -- what would you all suggest we add to the FAQ to make it clearer or more helpful?
And another idea -- does somebody want to volunteer to do a guest blog post from the point of view of a Wordienik? We'd *love* that! Then we could point people at it, as well as to the FAQ.
February 20, 2010
erinmckean commented on the list ghost-words--1
Ha! What are the kinds of minds they say think alike, again?
February 20, 2010
erinmckean commented on the list punk-genres
Vanishedone, I love this list.
February 20, 2010
erinmckean commented on the list words-of-ill-repute
I was meaning to make a list of old-fashioned words for people who "aren't what they should be," but I got distracted and only added one.
February 3, 2010
erinmckean commented on the word U2 in the air
John's spangly jumpsuits are LEGEND in the office. My favorite is the blaze orange one. It's like he's a disco DOT worker.
January 27, 2010
erinmckean commented on the word U2 in the air
I kind of love the gold lamé. If you're a rock star -- hey, lamé all the way!
January 27, 2010
erinmckean commented on the user feedback
Hi frogapplause, I think that got fixed yesterday morning ... thanks for letting us know!
January 25, 2010
erinmckean commented on the user erinmckean
Hey marky, sorry not to get to this earlier -- there is a plan for a lists API. Watch the blog, we'll announce it there when it's fully cooked. :-)
Thanks!
January 22, 2010
erinmckean commented on the user erinmckean
Oh, lovely -- thank you!
January 19, 2010
erinmckean commented on the user gangerh
Heh. Boston Globe Theatre.
January 15, 2010
erinmckean commented on the user gangerh
Hi gangerh! I sent you an email, but am also leaving you a comment in case my email was spaminated ... can I entice you into giving me a quote or two about sweet tooth fairies? I'm hoping to write about them for the Boston Globe.
January 15, 2010
erinmckean commented on the word I miss wordie
Thanks, reesetee!
January 11, 2010
erinmckean commented on the word gleng
"the act of pulling the car door handle at precisely the same instant that driver is attempting to unlock the door, thus nullifying the unlock action." from Joe Posnanski
January 11, 2010
erinmckean commented on the word I miss wordie
Hey Sionnach, I understand your disappointment ... I do want to point out though that the goal we're working towards with Wordnik is not necessarily to have *definitions* for every word, but to have examples ... I wrote something for the NYT a couple weeks ago about the relative helpfulness of definitions -- it's here, and might help define (sorry, couldn't help myself) part of what we're working towards.
January 11, 2010
erinmckean commented on the user Telofy
I'll try to get some scripts so we can put 'em in the corpus.
And you forgot the CLOTHES! OMG, the clothes in that show are so good!
December 29, 2009
erinmckean commented on the user Telofy
I'm *loving* the Pushing Daisies quotes. Thanks for adding them!
December 29, 2009
erinmckean commented on the list words-that-sound-dirty--but-arent--1
ooh, thanks!
December 19, 2009
erinmckean commented on the user super-erinaceous
what makes you super?
December 19, 2009
erinmckean commented on the word hippodamia
I wish this meant "genius of ladybugs," because they are very, very smart, indeed.
December 19, 2009
erinmckean commented on the word whisper
Ooh, somebody noticed! We loaded a lot of "sound effects" pronunciations at the appropriate words a while back -- beep is probably my favorite. I like to imagine that it was recorded by Harpo Marx. (Note: it was not recorded by Harpo Marx.)
December 15, 2009
erinmckean commented on the word blegging
from blogging + begging: begging on a blog
December 14, 2009
erinmckean commented on the user erinmckean
Aw, thanks! Y'all are too nice. :-)
December 7, 2009
erinmckean commented on the user marky
Hey Marky! We like your enthusiasm. We'll be letting more folks into the API soon, probably next week sometime.
December 6, 2009
erinmckean commented on the word statistics
We have a big blog post on the Wordnik statistics here: Carbonated Frequencies. It's a little out of date (we fixed some of the known weirdnesses mentioned).
Right now we have a bit of a frequency "hole" for the 1970s and 1980s that we're working to fill with more data. We'll give updates as we have 'em!
December 4, 2009
erinmckean commented on the list british-broadcasting-concision
bilby, I read that as "street" actresses being unregulated, illicit, and somewhat riskier to watch than prescription actresses.
December 3, 2009
erinmckean commented on the word whiffler
In "Murder Must Advertise," Whifflers were those who participated in Wimsey's advertising scheme for Whifflets cigarettes -- "Whiffling Round Britain". "The great Whifflers' Club practically founded itself, and Whifflers who had formed attachments while Whiffling in company, secured special Whifflet coupons entitling them to a Whifflet wedding with a Whifflet cake and their photographs in the papers."
December 3, 2009
erinmckean commented on the word wordnik
Hey guys, thanks for your comments. We do read them all and I promise we take them seriously.
We do have a BHAG, which is (as John pointed out below) to be the most information about the most words for the benefit of the most people, ever. We're not nearly there yet ... but that's the goal.
The main thrust of the next few months will be to improve & expand our examples & statistics (I'd love for 'vexample' to eventually be tagged "archaic" or "dated"!) while improving the rest of the experience of the site ... which also includes the Random word function, which is slated for discussion on Monday. :-)
I can't promise that we'll act on every suggestion -- in fact, with such a small team, we can't -- but I can promise that we will always listen. You guys all know our first names, and we're all firstname@wordnik.com, so feel free to email us directly, as well as leave comments.
November 29, 2009
erinmckean commented on the user feedback
Hey Prolagus, we've got some song lyrics in the example-sentences queue. I'll let you know when they're live -- we're working out some formatting issues.
November 29, 2009
erinmckean commented on the user PossibleUnderscore
Hi -- leaving a comment here as I wanted to respond to Prolagus's note below, about us "trying to make the entries better for less-humorous uses". We really do like the humorous uses, I promise, and we often call across the office to each other to point out new and great ones, but there is a limit to how many vexamples folks are willing to put up with, even if they do spark some good jokes.
I'll comment more over on wordnik about "What's a Wordnik for" ...
November 29, 2009
erinmckean commented on the user feedback
Prolagus, sorry about that. I wish we could keep all the vexamples and suchlike for their riffing potential, but we are trying to make the entries better for less-humorous uses ...
VanishedOne, we'll get that other stuff cleaned up! Thanks!
November 28, 2009
erinmckean commented on the user feedback
Vanishedone -- thanks for reporting the spammers, we've dealt with them (perhaps not the Wordie treatment, but effective nonetheless) ...
We'll do our best to clean up those borked tags, too. Thanks!
November 28, 2009
erinmckean commented on the list real-genius
I think you're being too harsh on Val Kilmer. Did you see The Saint? :-)
November 24, 2009
erinmckean commented on the word pronunciations
Thanks! We kicked the pronunciation server and it should have finished its coffee break and be working again ... feel free to let us know at http://www.wordnik.com/people/feedback if it happens again!
November 24, 2009
erinmckean commented on the word kanji
The original Wordnik mandate had an implied "English" in there ... so "All the (English) words." We'll get to all the other languages eventually, provided they form an orderly queue. :-)
November 21, 2009
erinmckean commented on the word CiteULike
CiteULike is actually on our list of stuff to *remove* from the corpus because the sentences from it aren't really helpful.
November 17, 2009
erinmckean commented on the word purenteen
It seems to have the variant purentine as well.
November 16, 2009
erinmckean commented on the word bugs
whichbe, rest assured all the lists are extant, we just have to run around re-attaching the hoses to the right intake valves. Or something like that ... we'll have another update in the next few days, I hope by Wednesday.
November 16, 2009
erinmckean commented on the word list of the day
Aw, c'mon John! You know how I like the tech! But sure, mentioning it here would be nice. :-)
November 14, 2009
erinmckean commented on the word list of the day
Thanks! For now you can just email us (feedback@wordnik works); eventually we'll see if we can't do something more high-tech.
November 14, 2009
erinmckean commented on the word comments
Dear Prolagus, there's no such thing as too much feedback or feedback given too early. We really appreciate your taking the time to make suggestions! :-)
November 12, 2009
erinmckean commented on the word wordnik
Oh, telofy -- shoot, that bug (adding a new list, then a new word, then ... boom) is one we thought we caught. It's high on the list to fix. We're also working on those IPA problems -- we're about to get a newer, cleaner data source for those.
Prolagus, I'll see what we can do about your missing upper-case P. I think we have some extras around here we can swap in. :-) And we are planning on eventually letting you "hide" words from your public lookup history at some point!
I also wanted to pop in here and say that for 99% percent of Wordies, your Wordie username should work at Wordnik, you just have to reset your password (with this link: http://www.wordnik.com/user/forgot). If your username DOESN'T work (that is, if you lost the arm-wrestle for that username to another user on the Wordnik site), you'll get an email with your new username, which will be super-whateveryourusernamewas. You'll also have to reset your password.
Some Wordniks lost the username-contest to stronger and craftier Wordies; they will also have to assume the burden of superness and reset their passwords.
If we were pretty sure you were the same person on Wordie and Wordnik (same username, same or suspiciously similar email addresses) we merged the accounts. If we messed up and you are now living with a stranger, let us know ASAP! (It was only a few folks, so we hope we got it right!)
November 11, 2009
erinmckean commented on the word anyhoo
Anyhoo is a humorous mispronunciation of "anyhow."
August 20, 2009
erinmckean commented on the word cagoul
a lightweight waterproof jacket.
August 5, 2009
erinmckean commented on the word kitler
A kitler is a cat whose markings make it look as if it has a "Hitler moustache".
August 3, 2009
erinmckean commented on the word mixologist
"Mixologists serve drinks. Bartenders serve people."
July 20, 2009
erinmckean commented on the word Competetive
a Sussex dialect word for a narrow path or passage between two walls or hedges
July 14, 2009
erinmckean commented on the word IBM
IBM used to stand for "International Business Machines".
June 9, 2009
erinmckean commented on the word melamed
test
May 18, 2009
erinmckean commented on the word pantoble
short for "jeans shorts"
May 3, 2009
erinmckean commented on the word quine
"A program that generates a copy of its own source text as its complete output. Devising the shortest possible quine in some given programming language is a common hackish amusement."
http://www.nyx.net/~gthompso/quine.htm
April 16, 2009
erinmckean commented on the word kitska
"To apply the wax, you use a small tool called a kitska, which is like a tiny funnel attached to a wooden handle."
http://rosylittlethings.typepad.com/posie_gets_cozy/2009/04/my-pysanky-eggs.html
April 15, 2009
erinmckean commented on the word cakeage
a fee charged by a restaurant for cutting a cake brought in by a customer, as for a birthday.
April 10, 2009
erinmckean commented on the word venustation
it means "To make something beautiful or handsome"
March 26, 2009