OED (fig.)

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On 11/8/06, Benjamin Zimmer <bgzimmer at ling.upenn.edu> wrote:
> -----
> http://www.slate.com/id/2153209/
> The State of the NFL
> from: Stefan Fatsis
> to: Charles P. Pierce
> Is Tom Brady a Great Quarterback?
> [...]
> Last on the depth chart was a guy with the build of a multidimensional
> QB -- a bit shorter and broader than Brady -- and a strong arm, a
> confident but not immodest mien, and the ability to absorb the OED of
> information dumped on the modern pro signal-caller.
> -----
>
> Is "OED" a common enough abbreviation for readers to get the reference
> (so to speak)?

Just realized that the writer of the above is Stefan Fatsis, also the
author of _Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in
the World of Competitive Scrabble_. But I don't think Fatsis can count
on his Slate readership being so lexicographically inclined.


--Ben Zimmer

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