to fiske

[Dave Wilton]

Note that "to fisk" (also "fisking") is a well-established blogging term for
a point-by-point, and often savage, rebuttal or refutation of another blog
entry or a news story. It's after Robert Fisk, a British journalist, and was
coined in response to a 19 December 2001 criticism of a Fisk article by
blogger Andrew Sullivan.

It's well established enough to have made it into Safire's "On Language"
column on 19 Feb 2006.

(Normally I don't respond to Mr. Fiske's posts, but I thought I'd clarify
any confusion between the established term and Mr. Fiske's poor and petulant
publicity stunt.)

-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of
Robert Hartwell Fiske
Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2008 2:35 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: to fiske

Thank you for your submission! This entry has been added to
Merriam-Webster's Open Dictionary:

fiske (verb) : 1. to rail against dull-witted lexicographers  and
descriptive
linguists. 2. to point out unconscionable stupidity. 3. to  battle
mercilessly and relentlessly; to attack. 4. to be criticized by Robert
Hartwell Fiske.
. He fiskes Merriam-Webster with his monthly "Mock Merriam" column.
. They've been fisked.
_http://www.vocabula.com/2008/VRFEB08merriam.asp_
(http://www.vocabula.com/2008/VRFEB08merriam.asp)

Robert Hartwell Fiske
Editor and Publisher
The Vocabula  Review
_www.vocabula.com_ (http://www.vocabula.com/)

Join The  Vocabula Community:
_http://www.vocabula.com/VocabulaCommunity.asp_
(http://www.vocabula.com/VocabulaCommunity.asp)

The  Vocabula Well-Written Writing Contest:
_http://www.vocabula.com/index.asp_ (http://www.vocabula.com/index.asp)



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