The Word Detective ─ Searching for the Meaning of It All at the Oxford English Dictionary

John Simpson has spent almost four decades immersed in the intricacies of human language. In The Word Detective, an intensely personal memoir and a joyful celebration of the English language, Simpson weaves a story of how words come into being (and sometimes disappear), how history and culture shape the language we use, and how we cope when words fail us. With dry wit, Simpson charts the history of the OED during his tenure and his efforts to democratize--and digitize--the dictionary. Throughout he explores the fascinating origins of individual words--from ?jam-packed” to ?shenanigans” to ?101” (yes, it's a word). For fans of Between You & Me and The Professor and the Madman, The Word Detective is the perfect book for anyone who loves language.

John Simpson was Chief Editor of the OED for twenty years (he retired last year), and had been working at the OED since 1976. During his tenure, he helped move the dictionary online, making it one of the first 400 sites on the Internet, and spearheaded the Third Edition of the OED, a massive undertaking requiring 70 editors that is expected to be completed in 2037. Simpson is an Emeritus Fellow of Kellogg College and co-editor of the Oxford English Dictionary Second Edition, the Oxford English Dictionary Additions Series, and the Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang, as well as the editor of The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs. Simpson lives in Gloucestershire, UK.