Cool stuff about words
November 2022
It’s kind of like Let’s tech communicate, but maybe not quite as serious. Save these for when you need a little bit of fun!
Tasty names for website menu icons
Most of us working on websites probably know what a hamburger menu is, right? But did you know there's a whole bunch of other menu types, all with food-related names? We can't decide which one is more adorable! This topic came up in one of our workshops at the conference, and as promised, we deliver! ...Get it?
Different types of menu icons and their usage
Programming case types explained
Here's one for the budding developers among us! There’s a lot of funky case types that we definitely wouldn't publish in our print or online content, but they've certainly made their way into the wonderful world of programming. We have to admit, while we may not entirely like them, we kind of admire them too.
Programming case types explained
New words and old words in the Oxford English Dictionary
These couple of articles from the Oxford English Dictionary tell us about:
- which new words have made the cut and been officially added to the dictionary recently
- an impressive collection of historical words which all mean ‘excellent’ in some way.
Both articles give us a little insight into the magic of language and how what’s happening in the world around us continues to influence and evolve the way we communicate.
OED September 2022 release notes: new words
Toppers, pipperoos, and rumptydoolers: ‘excellent’ words in the Historical Thesaurus of the OED
Macmillan Dictionary
This is an interesting concept - a crowd-sourced dictionary! It's kind of like Urban Dictionary, although it seems a bit more sensible (just in our opinion). In saying that, you'll still come across some real gems. One of our favourites at the moment is sarchasm. That's not a typo - look it up!
21 inspirational words in other languages
Do you sometimes struggle to find the perfect word to encompass everything you're thinking and feeling? You might just need to look for it in another language.
21 inspirational words in other languages
The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows
Similar to the 21 words above, this dictionary gives us words to use for feelings where there isn't really a word already existing (we're assuming in English). The creator, John Koenig, first started this as an online project to create new words to fill those gaps, and he's since published the collection as a hardcopy book. What do you think? Do some of them just feel right?
The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows
Learn a fictional language
The languages that linguists make up for books and movies often go much further than just the handful of phrases in the final product. You can really learn them! With a bit of googling, you can find official websites, books and forums dedicated to the fictional languages that have become staples of pop culture (is anyone not thinking about Game of Thrones or Star Trek right now?).
This blog post from Britannica starts us off with some key fictional languages to whet our appetites.