Category Archives: Language

March’s Non-words

Posted on March 31, 2012 by Ed Battistella

Here are the Non-Words for March: endeem, v. to cause something to become endemic. 1 Mar overmind, v. to pay too much attention to those in authority. 2 Mar ummify, v. to repeatedly use “um”s and “uh”s in one’s speech … Continue reading →

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January’s Non-words of the Day

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Ed Battistella

You can follow the Literary Ashland Non-word of the Day on Twitter (it’s easy). First, some words that I wished I could have used. I wanted to used haberdash as a verb meaning “to run after a hat that has … Continue reading →

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The American Dialect Society Word of the Year

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Ed Battistella

Tomorrow I’ll post the January roundup of the Literary Ashland Non-word of the Day. But first, for those of you that missed them, the American Dialect Society Word(s) of the Year for 2011. The American Dialect Society meets with the … Continue reading →

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An Interview with Travis Chaney

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Ed Battistella

This week Literary Ashland interviews Scrabble expert Travis Chaney. Travis Chaney grew up on the border of Oklahoma and Arkansas and began playing Scrabble in his early twenties. Since then he’s become the first player in history to attain expert … Continue reading →

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