John Kelly
@mashedradish.bsky.social
Your "rigorous af" word guy. Formerly, head of content at Dictionary.com, contributor to Merriam-Webster and Oxford Dictionaries, emoji lexicographer for Emojipedia, and educator. I (still) blog about etymology at masheradish.com.
Oh no. Not you now, too, Shakespeare.
November 5, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Oh no. Not you now, too, Shakespeare.
Doing a Google search, or just having Chrome open, is an onslaught of force-fed AI pick-mes now:
October 28, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Doing a Google search, or just having Chrome open, is an onslaught of force-fed AI pick-mes now:
9/ Touchingly, the students all write me thank-you cards. This one from the last talk is one I treasure.
![A picture of a hand-written thank-you note. It reads:
Mr. Kelly,
Thank you for taking the time to speak to my Morality Class. Your talk has stuck with me and was very impactful. The way you talked about masculinity was, in my opinion, spot on. In a world of junk influencers and toxic males, you were a breath of fresh air. To love, to forgive, to be vulnerable, these themes were present throughout your talk and I appreciate that. Those qualities are what it means to be a man.
Thanks again,
[signature intentionally cropped out]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:orm5w6replltls3joig3caew/bafkreidtyo6tfa6sbglyvvn6fq4ty25wbngsvp65hahlv3q5t3xv3cppvy@jpeg)
October 28, 2025 at 2:55 PM
9/ Touchingly, the students all write me thank-you cards. This one from the last talk is one I treasure.
STOOLBALL!
Also, SUPPORT DICTIONARIES!
Also, SUPPORT DICTIONARIES!
October 28, 2025 at 12:20 PM
STOOLBALL!
Also, SUPPORT DICTIONARIES!
Also, SUPPORT DICTIONARIES!
/8 English once had a verb, ‘bale,’ meaning “to dance.” The OED’s unrevised entry for that obsolete verb preserves—as older entries do—a bit of a gem.
Bring back song-and-dance tennis! Might as well entertain ourselves before the void!
Bring back song-and-dance tennis! Might as well entertain ourselves before the void!
October 28, 2025 at 12:10 PM
/8 English once had a verb, ‘bale,’ meaning “to dance.” The OED’s unrevised entry for that obsolete verb preserves—as older entries do—a bit of a gem.
Bring back song-and-dance tennis! Might as well entertain ourselves before the void!
Bring back song-and-dance tennis! Might as well entertain ourselves before the void!
2/ The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) cites ‘ballroom’ in 1719. Its first two citations hit close to home, don’t they?
October 28, 2025 at 12:10 PM
2/ The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) cites ‘ballroom’ in 1719. Its first two citations hit close to home, don’t they?
And the scripture has arrived. 😍
October 28, 2025 at 12:54 AM
And the scripture has arrived. 😍
Man, this paragraph from the latest bulletin from the local Jesuit parish I sometimes frequent ...
October 27, 2025 at 10:41 PM
Man, this paragraph from the latest bulletin from the local Jesuit parish I sometimes frequent ...
The OED first cites “White House” for the US president's residence in 1811.
But its citation from a letter by Abijah Bigelow, a Massachusetts Federalist congressman, in 1812 really stands out right now:
But its citation from a letter by Abijah Bigelow, a Massachusetts Federalist congressman, in 1812 really stands out right now:
October 21, 2025 at 12:56 PM
The OED first cites “White House” for the US president's residence in 1811.
But its citation from a letter by Abijah Bigelow, a Massachusetts Federalist congressman, in 1812 really stands out right now:
But its citation from a letter by Abijah Bigelow, a Massachusetts Federalist congressman, in 1812 really stands out right now:
Great turnout and energy at the Cincinnati #NoKings rally. Here’s Ayman Soliman, former area children’s hospital chaplain and previously asylumed Egyptian immigrant who was detained by ICE in a regional facility for 73 days, addressing an expansive crowd on the significance of protest.
October 18, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Great turnout and energy at the Cincinnati #NoKings rally. Here’s Ayman Soliman, former area children’s hospital chaplain and previously asylumed Egyptian immigrant who was detained by ICE in a regional facility for 73 days, addressing an expansive crowd on the significance of protest.
PLAY. That’s my main takeaway from Herbie Hancock, whom I saw last night with a virtuosic band.
At 85, his playing sounds better than ever—and he likes to play, to have a joyful fun with sound, more than ever.
He also likes to play around in his stage banter. Riffing, as it were.
At 85, his playing sounds better than ever—and he likes to play, to have a joyful fun with sound, more than ever.
He also likes to play around in his stage banter. Riffing, as it were.
October 18, 2025 at 3:28 PM
PLAY. That’s my main takeaway from Herbie Hancock, whom I saw last night with a virtuosic band.
At 85, his playing sounds better than ever—and he likes to play, to have a joyful fun with sound, more than ever.
He also likes to play around in his stage banter. Riffing, as it were.
At 85, his playing sounds better than ever—and he likes to play, to have a joyful fun with sound, more than ever.
He also likes to play around in his stage banter. Riffing, as it were.
In one of my many regular lookups of 'peak' vs. 'peek'* in my Mac's dictionary app (based on the 'New Oxford American Dictionary'), I was charmed by the self-reference of this usage note at 'peek.'
*Sure, I _could_ memorize the difference, but I embrace the chaos of this beautiful, messy language.
*Sure, I _could_ memorize the difference, but I embrace the chaos of this beautiful, messy language.
October 15, 2025 at 8:58 PM
In one of my many regular lookups of 'peak' vs. 'peek'* in my Mac's dictionary app (based on the 'New Oxford American Dictionary'), I was charmed by the self-reference of this usage note at 'peek.'
*Sure, I _could_ memorize the difference, but I embrace the chaos of this beautiful, messy language.
*Sure, I _could_ memorize the difference, but I embrace the chaos of this beautiful, messy language.
A little while back while on @etymonline.bsky.social the combination of "Logos" and "ghost" in the trending lookups immediately brought to mind the poet Jack Spicer. #iykyk
October 15, 2025 at 8:42 PM
A little while back while on @etymonline.bsky.social the combination of "Logos" and "ghost" in the trending lookups immediately brought to mind the poet Jack Spicer. #iykyk
TIL Carl Linnaeus included BATS in his classification of Primates, which he so named because he deemed of the highest order. ('Primates' is ultimately based on Latin "'primus," meaning 'first, foremost.') Bats rule!
October 1, 2025 at 8:03 PM
TIL Carl Linnaeus included BATS in his classification of Primates, which he so named because he deemed of the highest order. ('Primates' is ultimately based on Latin "'primus," meaning 'first, foremost.') Bats rule!
Seems one Nathan Ames is credited with the earliest patent for the actual machine, the ‘Revolving Stairs,’ in 1859:
worldwide.espacenet.com/patent/searc...
cc @design-law.bsky.social
2/4
worldwide.espacenet.com/patent/searc...
cc @design-law.bsky.social
2/4
September 25, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Seems one Nathan Ames is credited with the earliest patent for the actual machine, the ‘Revolving Stairs,’ in 1859:
worldwide.espacenet.com/patent/searc...
cc @design-law.bsky.social
2/4
worldwide.espacenet.com/patent/searc...
cc @design-law.bsky.social
2/4
@darthbluesky.bsky.social some very good dogs come in the form of late 19th French paintings ennobling the laborers of the field
September 7, 2025 at 8:58 PM
@darthbluesky.bsky.social some very good dogs come in the form of late 19th French paintings ennobling the laborers of the field
Here's a little curmudgeonly gem from the old OED on the etymology. (Samuel Rogers was a prominent English poet of his day.)
May 8, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Here's a little curmudgeonly gem from the old OED on the etymology. (Samuel Rogers was a prominent English poet of his day.)
And I am brought to mind of Lorine Niedecker, who memorably likened the work of poetry to "condensery." (Aside: the poem's economic valences—conveyed with the sparse power of "trade/layoff" and whose wisdom I can now only appreciate that I am older—warrant a whole separate discussion.)
March 29, 2025 at 2:58 PM
And I am brought to mind of Lorine Niedecker, who memorably likened the work of poetry to "condensery." (Aside: the poem's economic valences—conveyed with the sparse power of "trade/layoff" and whose wisdom I can now only appreciate that I am older—warrant a whole separate discussion.)
One page was even updated today? It’s my hope that some badass scientist is doing the work of resistance in the ways they know best.
February 13, 2025 at 8:08 PM
One page was even updated today? It’s my hope that some badass scientist is doing the work of resistance in the ways they know best.
Yeah, one way I cope with *all this* is with lexical factoids.
OED has "trade war" as such in the early 1700s, and in the sense we generally mean now in the early 1800s ... in the context of the ::double-checks notes:: Napoleonic Wars.
OED has "trade war" as such in the early 1700s, and in the sense we generally mean now in the early 1800s ... in the context of the ::double-checks notes:: Napoleonic Wars.
February 3, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Yeah, one way I cope with *all this* is with lexical factoids.
OED has "trade war" as such in the early 1700s, and in the sense we generally mean now in the early 1800s ... in the context of the ::double-checks notes:: Napoleonic Wars.
OED has "trade war" as such in the early 1700s, and in the sense we generally mean now in the early 1800s ... in the context of the ::double-checks notes:: Napoleonic Wars.
I want to live in a society where my etymology blog doesn't need multiple updates on disastrous economic policies.
mashedradish.com/2018/03/06/i...
mashedradish.com/2018/03/06/i...
February 3, 2025 at 2:45 PM
I want to live in a society where my etymology blog doesn't need multiple updates on disastrous economic policies.
mashedradish.com/2018/03/06/i...
mashedradish.com/2018/03/06/i...
Well, @merriam-webster.com has you covered. The dictionary just launched a new slang and trending language vertical—and I am happy to share that I got to compose ‘em, save most acronyms.
www.merriam-webster.com/slang
www.merriam-webster.com/slang
January 31, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Well, @merriam-webster.com has you covered. The dictionary just launched a new slang and trending language vertical—and I am happy to share that I got to compose ‘em, save most acronyms.
www.merriam-webster.com/slang
www.merriam-webster.com/slang
Here's a sample of the experience:
January 22, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Here's a sample of the experience:
Some parting wisdom—and cautionary words—from @wmarybeard.bsky.social's 2023 "Emperor of Rome":
"It is not violence or the secret police, it is collaboration and cooperation—knowing or naive, well-meaning or not—that keep autocracy going."
(Last sentence of last full paragraph.)
"It is not violence or the secret police, it is collaboration and cooperation—knowing or naive, well-meaning or not—that keep autocracy going."
(Last sentence of last full paragraph.)
January 20, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Some parting wisdom—and cautionary words—from @wmarybeard.bsky.social's 2023 "Emperor of Rome":
"It is not violence or the secret police, it is collaboration and cooperation—knowing or naive, well-meaning or not—that keep autocracy going."
(Last sentence of last full paragraph.)
"It is not violence or the secret police, it is collaboration and cooperation—knowing or naive, well-meaning or not—that keep autocracy going."
(Last sentence of last full paragraph.)