(b)logophile

Now that is fantastically cool — amazing what our brains can do with language once they know it is language… [via]

My diss is printed1 and I’d like to post photos of the pyramid of boxes, and the snazzy cover … but my camera has run out of batteries and won’t release said pics from its robotic claws. In the meantime, then, a bizarre piece of lexicography:2 the second citation for “tarantula” in Dr Johnson’s Dictionary. [...]

For the first time in ages I’ve bought a book newly printed, all unknowing of its contents. Well, not quite, but I got probably more excited about The Manual of Detection than might seem justified by the sparse reviews and basic lack of hype to be found online. Below the cut, my anticipation and purchase, [...]