My birthday word is "gobbledygook" -- now on the Web of Language

[Shapiro, Fred]

Thanks to Dennis for this entertaining posting, typical of his fine writing.

But I'm confused about how "gobbledygook" can be his birthday word.  He was born in May 1944, but the OED's first citation is dated April 1944 and in fact the word appeared in the Washington Post and other newspapers on March 30, 1944.

Fred Shapiro



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From: American Dialect Society [ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] on behalf of Baron, Dennis E [debaron at ILLINOIS.EDU]
Sent: Friday, May 09, 2014 8:50 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: My birthday word is "gobbledygook" -- now on the Web of Language

There's a new post on the Web of Language:

My birthday word is "gobbledygook."

The Oxford English Dictionary has an app<http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2013/12/oed-birthday-words/?utm_content=bufferc181a&utm_source=buffer&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Buffer> that lets you find your birthday word: a word that entered English the month and year you were born. My birthday word is gobbledygook. The perfect gift for any writer.

Read the whole post here, on the Web of Language: http://bit.ly/weblan

Dennis Baron

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