If it's not in the dictionary, it must not be a word

[Joel S. Berson]

At 6/9/2006 05:30 PM, you wrote:
>Cowing has corrected his misspelling, with no note that it ever was in
>error.  Zimmer, at Language Log, and I (here) have acknowledged our
>mistakes.

The victors write the history.  The curator of an exhibit on Ben
Franklin told me that exhibit labels are ephemera: what is now a
misattribution to Franklin "can be corrected before we do the
catalog".  (Yes, this is about my American Speech article on the
"Drinkers Dictionary".)

Joel

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