AAA presidents red-linked In my brief research for the previous post, I happened upon the Wikipedia page for the American Anthropological Association and its list of presidents, and was shocked to see the number and importa…

Wrote this post six years ago. Much progress, but still a handful of former AAA presidents with no Wikipedia page #glossographia http://ow.ly/7LBH50kqaDb

Cistercian number magic of the Boy Scouts #glossographia http://ow.ly/UbsK50kqa3m

Figurative is my middle name Stephen Figurative Chrisomalis.  Has a nice ring to it, don’t you think? In seriousness, an offhand remark I made to my wife this morning, that “Compliance is my middle name,” led…

Figurative is my middle name #glossographia (P.S. It's Andrew.) http://ow.ly/FNov50kq8BP

Eellogofusciouhipoppokunurious, and other monstrosities Over at my obscure words website, The Phrontistery, there’s been a word that has been the subject of many astonished inquiries over the years: eellogofusciouhipoppokunurious, which means simp…

Eellogofusciouhipoppokunurious, and other monstrosities #glossographia http://ow.ly/tBO350kpwxq

It’s just ones and zeroes: the representational power of binary notation This recent Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal strip illustrates a ridiculous, but ultimately profound, issue around how we think about numbers and computers: Most of us who use computers, regardles…

It's just ones and zeroes: the representational power of binary notation #glossographia
http://ow.ly/lyO350kq0jW

A typology of quotation marks I’ve been thinking about quotation marks lately (okay, now I’ve lost 99% of my readership already, way to go, Steve!) and the different ways we use them. Because I have a strong interes…

"A" "typology" "of" "quotation" "marks" #glossographia http://ow.ly/iQhz50kq9Ru

Conservative skewing in Google N-gram frequencies Google Ngram Viewer is a great tool, especially for rough-and-ready searching and visualization of linguistic trends, and as a teaching tool to introduce students to lots of interesting questions w…

I keep complaining about this, but no one seems to pay any attention. Don't trust Google Ngrams post-2000 - they are skewed against linguistic novelty! #glossographia http://ow.ly/1ETo50kpwx3

Octothorpe, quadrathorpe, bithorpe Since I am, both by vocation and avocation, a word guy, it’s pretty rare for me to learn new English words.  Since I am, in particular, a number words guy, it is especially rare for me to lea…

Octothorpe, quadrathorpe, bithorpe #glossographia
http://ow.ly/ucE450kq15s

Anthropology’s thumb: is linguistic anthropology vestigial or opposable? This post is version of a lecture to my department’s senior capstone course on 01/26/2010, to be read alongside William Balée’s ‘The Four-Field Model of Anthropology in the United States’ (Balée 20…

This classic post seems to get a boost every semester around this time: Anthropology's thumb: is linguistic anthropology vestigial or opposable? #glossographia http://ow.ly/dA1p50kq9dr

A hithertofore unrecognized neologism I got a note last week from a correspondent asking me about the word hithertofore, and whether or not it was a ‘proper word’.  I have to admit that at first glance I was very surprised,…

A hithertofore unrecognized neologism #glossographia http://ow.ly/Atq950k7i1f

Ph.Dining: the art of social eating in grad school It’s probably not a secret to anyone who has ever been in grad school (or who reads PHD Comics) that departmental and college social events can be an important way to stave off starvation. My…

Ph.Dining: the art of social eating in grad school #glossographia glossographia.wordpress.com/2015/01/19/ph-dining/

A feisty embuggerance When I grade my students’ paper proposals, I make a point of doing a brief Google Scholar search for each student’s proposal, which a) helps me evaluate how thorough they have been; b) …

Still wrong, ten years later: A feisty embuggerance #glossographia glossographia.wordpress.com/2009/10/21/a-feisty-embu...

Throughout history: a history Throughout history, undergraduates have peppered the opening sentences of their term papers with a phrase.  That phrase, of course, is ‘throughout history’.  And no matter how much we (…

Throughout history: a history #glossographia glossographia.wordpress.com/2015/11/30/throughout-hi...

The Case of the Missing Pi Day 4s Yesterday was Pi Day, 3/14 (those who prefer days before months can have Pi Approximation Day, 22/7) and in celebration of this momentous annual event, I invited several of my American colleagues (…

Happy #PiDay! From the #glossographia archives: The case of the missing Pi Day 4s glossographia.wordpress.com/2014/03/15/the-case-of-t...

… or, you know, maybe October Apologies for the long delay in posting – I have been juggling too many balls and this one has dropped.  But have no fear – perhaps it … bounced?  … and is now … comin…

... or, you know, maybe October #glossographia glossographia.wordpress.com/2015/10/30/or-you-know-m...

Verso e-books at 90% discount In case you’re the sort of person who can’t have enough books, Verso Books is discounting all of its e-book titles by 90% for this week only (until Jan. 1), which means that you can pic…

Verso e-books at 90% discount #glossographia http://wp.me/pc9pf-mM

Language and Culture: a strange exam Every year, my Language and Culture introductory linguistic anthropology course has a massive take-home final exam consisting of ten questions, of which students choose seven or eight (depending on…

Language and Culture: a strange exam http://wp.me/pc9pf-mC #glossographia

New blog: Strong Language I’m inordinately pleased to be one of the contributors at Strong Language, ‘a sweary blog about swearing’.  To say the least, it is not recommended for those who don’t want …

New blog: Strong Language #glossographia http://wp.me/pc9pf-mA

Advancing Science in Anthropology: a roundtable Thanks to those who made it out last Friday to our roundtable at the AAA meetings, ‘Advancing Science in Anthropology: 10 years of SAS’, commemorating 10 years of the Society for Anthro…

Advancing Science in Anthropology: a roundtable http://wp.me/pc9pf-mw #glossographia #sas #aaa2014

C U N DC? An AAA rundown To any of my readers who will be in Washington, D.C. this week for the annual American Anthropological meetings, feel free to say hello if you should see me amidst a swarm of funkily-dressed hipste…

C U N DC? An AAA rundown #AAA2014 #glossographia http://wp.me/pc9pf-mo

Review: Wengrow, The origins of monsters Wengrow, David. 2014. The Origins of Monsters: Image and Cognition in the First Age of Mechanical Reproduction. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press. 160 pp. Reviewed by Molly Hilton (W…

Review: Wengrow, The origins of monsters #glossographia http://wp.me/pc9pf-ml

A study in (tickled) pink While I don’t normally take requests, an apparent exception to that rule is that when my mom asks me about the origins of a phrase, I must comply.  At least if I know what’s good for me…

A study in (tickled) pink #glossographia http://wp.me/pc9pf-mh

Linguistics at Futility Closet Whether you are as odd as I am – a select number, to be sure – or only wish you were – you should be delighted to hear that the wonderful Futility Closet website has just released…

Linguistics at Futility Closet #glossographia @futility_closet http://wp.me/pc9pf-mb

Review: Malafouris, How things shape the mind Malafouris, Lambros. 2013. How things shape the mind: a theory of material engagement. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 321 pp. Reviewed by Michael Thomas (Wayne State University) In How Things Shape the …

Review: Malafouris, How things shape the mind #glossographia http://wp.me/pc9pf-m7

Review: Saxe, Cultural development of mathematical ideas Saxe, Geoffrey B. 2012. Cultural development of mathematical ideas.  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 393 pp. Reviewed by Summar Saad (Wayne State University) In Cultural Development of Mathe…

Review: Saxe, Cultural development of mathematical ideas http://wp.me/pc9pf-m4 #glossographia

Review: Ingold, Lines: a brief history Ingold, Tim. 2007. Lines: A Brief History. Cambridge, MA and London: Harvard University Press. 186pp. Reviewed by Molly Hilton (Wayne State University) Get out your walking stick and your comfortab…

Review: Ingold, Lines: a brief history #glossographia http://wp.me/pc9pf-m2

Lexiculture: 2014 word list As I mentioned a couple of months ago, I am doing a new iteration of my Lexiculture Project in my undergraduate linguistic anthropology course, which I ran last year to some success (with eight pap…

Lexiculture: 2014 word list #glossographia http://wp.me/pc9pf-m0

Review: Lloyd, Cognitive variations Lloyd, G.E.R. 2007. Cognitive variations: reflections on the universality and diversity of the human mind. Oxford; New York: Clarendon Press; Oxford University Press. 201 pp. Reviewed by Grace Papp…

Review: Lloyd, Cognitive variations #glossographia http://wp.me/pc9pf-lY

Review: Tomasello, A natural history of human thinking Tomasello, Michael. 2014. A natural history of human thinking.  Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. 194 pp. Reviewed by Heather Buza (Wayne State University) Is there a cognitive evolutionary …

Review: Tomasello, A natural history of human thinking #glossographia http://wp.me/pc9pf-lV

Review: Cerulo, Never saw it coming Cerulo, Karen. 2006. Never saw it coming: cultural challenges to envisioning the worst. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 336 pp. Reviewed by Michael Thomas (Wayne State University) Evelyn Waug…

Review: Cerulo, Never saw it coming #glossographia http://wp.me/pc9pf-lT