Table of Contents

Chapter 1, “People Look It Up: The Origins of Printed Lexicography.”

Chapter 2, “Hard Words Like Sesquipedalian: The Dawning of English Dictionaries.”

Chapter 3, “Juggernaut Johnson: The Age of Authority.”

Chapter 4, “The Declaration of Linguistic Independence: Noah Webster’s American Dictionary.”

Chapter 5, “Dictionary Warfare: The Webster Brand vs. Everyone.”

Chapter 6, “Victorian Colossus: The Great OED.”

Chapter 7, “What’s a Guardian to Do? Strife in the 20th Century.”

Chapter 8, “Vulgar Tongue: The Wild Variety of Englishes.”

Chapter 9, “Beyond the Floppy Disk: Digitized Dictionaries.”

Promotional Information

Marketing focus on bibliophiles and word nerds.

Publicity around the Grolier Club exhibit May 1 to July 27, 2024.

For the exhibition, Godine will underwrite the transportation and security of the only known copy of the world’s first printed dictionary, printed in 1604, to be at the Grolier exhibit. Godine will pay for that dictionary to be flown, with an escort, from London to New York. This will help ensure publicity in New York City and nationwide.

About the Author

Bryan A. Garner is an author, lawyer, grammarian, and lexicographer. He has written over 25 books, including standard references such as Garner’s Modern English Usage and Legal Writing in Plain English. His friendship with novelist David Foster Wallace resulted in Quack This Way: David Foster Wallace and Bryan A. Garner Talk Language and Writing. He is Distinguished Research Professor of Law at Southern Methodist University.

Jack Lynch is an educator and author whose books include The Lexicographer's Dilemma: The Evolution of “Proper” English, from Shakespeare to South Park and You Could Look It Up: The Reference Shelf from Ancient Babylon to Wikipedia. He is Distinguished Professor of English at Rutgers University-Newark.