Company (a predecessor of Merriam-Webster). âDordâ first appeared in its 1934 edition of the New International Dictionary as a noun from the disciplines of physics and chemistry, meaning âdensity.â The error was due to odd typesetting at the time. The entry was supposed to be âD or dââthat is, a capital or lowercase letter Dâthe dictionary noting that either could be used, in physics or chemistry, as an abbreviation for âdensity.â But the entry was set as âD o r d,â and a later editor removed what appeared to be three unnecessary spaces.
âDordâ remained in subsequent editions through 1939, when a proofreader realized that the word lacked an etymology and called its veracity into question. Other dictionaries used the word until 1947, likely having copied from old dictionaries (including, perhaps, those of competitors). This may have inspired the creation of âesquivalience.â
âEsquivalienceâ was first spotted in the 2001 edition of the New Oxford American Dictionary (NOAD), a noun meaning âthe willful avoidance of oneâs official responsibilities; the shirking of duty.â It was crafted by an editor named Christine Lindberg, according to the New Yorker , and was included for the sole purpose of catching those who copied the NOAD teamâs work. This was more than a matter of prideâif the word appeared in another publication, NOAD immediately had evidence that the second dictionary had violated NOADâs copyright.
Which is exactly what happened. The âwordâ appeared on Dictionary.com, which attributed it to Websterâs New Millennium Dictionary , but it was removed from both after the ruse was revealed. The Oxford team didnât pursue any legal action against either company.
BONUS FACT
The Simpsons debuted in 1989; with that debut came the repeated utterance of Homerâs catchphrase, âDâoh!,â another fabricated word. However, unlike âembiggenâ and âcromulent,â this one has slowly crept into common parlance. The Oxford English Dictionary âs editors recognized this in 2001, adding âdâohâ to their dictionary. It means, âExpressing frustration at the realization that things have turned out badly or not as planned, or that one has just said or done something foolish.â
THE CHART TOPPER
THE BESTSELLING BOOK THAT YOU COULDNâT BUY
Bestseller lists are self-explanatory: Books make the list when lots of people buy them. Sell enough, you make the list. Pretty straightforward stuff. There are wrinkles, of course. For example, a book will often crack the bestseller list even before it hits shelves, as presales vault the tome into notoriety. Thatâs what happened in 1956, when the book I, Libertine by Frederick R. Ewing made the New York Times bestseller list before publication. It was a coup for Mr. Ewing, who not only had never written a book before but also didnât exist.
For that matter, neither did the book.
The creditâor perhaps, blameâgoes to a late-night radio host named Jean Shepherd. Shepherd is probably best known for his story collection In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash , which was later adapted into the movie A Christmas Story (which Shepherd himself narrated). In this case, he wanted to pull a prank, one designed to show how silly bestseller lists were.
He asked his listeners to go into bookstores across the country and order the aforementioned book by Mr. Ewing, and he provided his listeners with a loosely established plot outline in case bookstore clerks were looking for more information. The prank was intended to simply confuse a bookseller or two. Shepherd believed the stores would inform the customers that no such title existed; thatâs what happened to him when he tried to buy a book of old radio scripts that, apparently, had never been printed.
But thatâs not what happened. The
âDordâ remained in subsequent editions through 1939, when a proofreader realized that the word lacked an etymology and called its veracity into question. Other dictionaries used the word until 1947, likely having copied from old dictionaries (including, perhaps, those of competitors). This may have inspired the creation of âesquivalience.â
âEsquivalienceâ was first spotted in the 2001 edition of the New Oxford American Dictionary (NOAD), a noun meaning âthe willful avoidance of oneâs official responsibilities; the shirking of duty.â It was crafted by an editor named Christine Lindberg, according to the New Yorker , and was included for the sole purpose of catching those who copied the NOAD teamâs work. This was more than a matter of prideâif the word appeared in another publication, NOAD immediately had evidence that the second dictionary had violated NOADâs copyright.
Which is exactly what happened. The âwordâ appeared on Dictionary.com, which attributed it to Websterâs New Millennium Dictionary , but it was removed from both after the ruse was revealed. The Oxford team didnât pursue any legal action against either company.
BONUS FACT
The Simpsons debuted in 1989; with that debut came the repeated utterance of Homerâs catchphrase, âDâoh!,â another fabricated word. However, unlike âembiggenâ and âcromulent,â this one has slowly crept into common parlance. The Oxford English Dictionary âs editors recognized this in 2001, adding âdâohâ to their dictionary. It means, âExpressing frustration at the realization that things have turned out badly or not as planned, or that one has just said or done something foolish.â
THE CHART TOPPER
THE BESTSELLING BOOK THAT YOU COULDNâT BUY
Bestseller lists are self-explanatory: Books make the list when lots of people buy them. Sell enough, you make the list. Pretty straightforward stuff. There are wrinkles, of course. For example, a book will often crack the bestseller list even before it hits shelves, as presales vault the tome into notoriety. Thatâs what happened in 1956, when the book I, Libertine by Frederick R. Ewing made the New York Times bestseller list before publication. It was a coup for Mr. Ewing, who not only had never written a book before but also didnât exist.
For that matter, neither did the book.
The creditâor perhaps, blameâgoes to a late-night radio host named Jean Shepherd. Shepherd is probably best known for his story collection In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash , which was later adapted into the movie A Christmas Story (which Shepherd himself narrated). In this case, he wanted to pull a prank, one designed to show how silly bestseller lists were.
He asked his listeners to go into bookstores across the country and order the aforementioned book by Mr. Ewing, and he provided his listeners with a loosely established plot outline in case bookstore clerks were looking for more information. The prank was intended to simply confuse a bookseller or two. Shepherd believed the stores would inform the customers that no such title existed; thatâs what happened to him when he tried to buy a book of old radio scripts that, apparently, had never been printed.
But thatâs not what happened. The
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