Lexipoddery: the OED podcast
Craig Leyland and Fiona McPherson
5.0from 1 ratings
- 12
- Episodes
- 1
- Ratings
- Weekly
- Cadence
- 2026
- First episode
About Lexipoddery: the OED podcast
Join the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary to explore words, lexicography, and the history of the English language. In this new podcast Fiona McPherson and Craig Leyland from the OED's New Words team discuss recent additions to the dictionary, disclose the mysterious practices of the historical lexicographer, and highlight intriguing aspects of our language's evolution. Visit the Oxford English Dictionary at oed.com.
- Publisher
- Craig Leyland and Fiona McPherson
- Category
- education · society & culture
- Language
- en
- Explicit
- No
- First episode
- 26 Mar 2026
- Latest episode
- 7 Oct 2026
Latest episodes
12 episodes in the feed.
7 Oct 2026
The world of words: how the OED records English from around the globe
When does a word from another language become English too? What would you call a fast clock in the Philippines? Is a single panini a problem? In this episode the resident Lexipoddery lexicographers Craig Leyland and Fiona McPherson talk to colleague Dr Danica Salazar about her work as head of the OED’s World English programme. Join us for another episode in two weeks (October 21st) as we look towards Halloween with a discussion of some suitably spooky words. www.oed.com (http://www.oed.com) lexipoddery@oup.com (mailto:lexipoddery@oup.com) www.oed.com/discover/new-words-from-around-the-world-in-the-oed-september-2026-update (http://www.oed.com/discover/new-words-from-around-the-world-in-the-oed-september-2026-update) Music by Matt Cutmore Glossary Antedating: an occurrence of a word, phrase, or sense, which predates the earliest use previously known or recorded. Collocation: the habitual juxtaposition or association of a particular word with other particular words; a group of words so associated. Compound: two or more words put together to make a new word or phrase (like hot sauce, nutcracker, or Greenwich Mean Time). Entry: a section of a dictionary devoted to a particular word, starting with the headword and including the etymology, pronunciation, senses, compounds, etc. Etymology: the origin and historical development of a word; the process of investigating this. Headword: the word you look up, at the start of the entry; the word that is being defined. Homonym: for OED purposes, homonyms are words that share the same spelling and part of speech, but have different etymological origins, and are therefore separate entries with their own homonym numbers (e.g. dog n.1 – the animal – and dog. n.2 – a euphemistic alteration of ‘god’). More broadly though, homonyms are words that have different meanings and origins but are either spelled the same (homographs) or sound the same (homophones). Isogloss: the boundary of an area of local concentration or dominance of a significant linguistic feature, e.g. pronunciation. Label: OED adds labels to words, when useful for readers, to give information on region (e.g. South African), subject (e.g. U.S. history), register (e.g. slang), usage (e.g. derogatory), and status (e.g. obsolete). Lexicography: the art/science/craft of writing dictionaries. A lexicographer is a writer of dictionaries. (“A harmless drudge that busies himself in tracing the original, and detailing the signification of words,” according to Samuel Johnson. Fair enough, he should know.) Obsolete: describing a word as no longer in use. (For OED’s purposes, that means we haven’t found any evidence of it after 1930.) Poddery: podcasting? We thought it sounded fun. It's not in OED...yet. Sense: any of the various distinct meanings of a particular word. Slip: a postcard-sized piece of paper containing an illustrative quotation or other useful bit of lexicographical information, written by an editor or volunteer reader. (The first edition alone generated over five million of them.) Small-type note: text (in small type!) that sits under the main definition, where we can add extra, useful information that doesn’t fit in the main definition itself. Update: a new version of OED, including new and revised entries, as published four times a year on oed.com (http://oed.com). Also called a release.
23 Sept 2026
The OED’s September update enters the twerpy mountweazel timeline
Why do we love the mountweazel (and what is it)? Who was the original twerp? How did timeline constitute a two-for-one bargain? Join editors Fiona McPherson and Craig Leyland as they dive into some of the new additions to the OED this September, and hear from fellow editor Jonathan Dent about some of the newly revised entries. Join us for another episode in two weeks (October 7th) when we’ll be talking to the OED’s World English editor Dr Danica Salazar about her work focusing on the language as it’s used around the globe. www.oed.com (http://www.oed.com) lexipoddery@oup.com (mailto:lexipoddery@oup.com) www.oed.com/information/updates/september-2026 (https://www.oed.com/information/updates/september-2026/?tl=true) Music by Matt Cutmore Glossary Antedating: an occurrence of a word, phrase, or sense, which predates the earliest use previously known or recorded. Collocation: the habitual juxtaposition or association of a particular word with other particular words; a group of words so associated. Compound: two or more words put together to make a new word or phrase (like hot sauce, nutcracker, or Greenwich Mean Time). Entry: a section of a dictionary devoted to a particular word, starting with the headword and including the etymology, pronunciation, senses, compounds, etc. Etymology: the origin and historical development of a word; the process of investigating this. Headword: the word you look up, at the start of the entry; the word that is being defined. Homonym: for OED purposes, homonyms are words that share the same spelling and part of speech, but have different etymological origins, and are therefore separate entries with their own homonym numbers (e.g. dog n.1 – the animal – and dog. n.2 – a euphemistic alteration of ‘god’). More broadly though, homonyms are words that have different meanings and origins but are either spelled the same (homographs) or sound the same (homophones). Isogloss: the boundary of an area of local concentration or dominance of a significant linguistic feature, e.g. pronunciation. Label: OED adds labels to words, when useful for readers, to give information on region (e.g. South African), subject (e.g. U.S. history), register (e.g. slang), usage (e.g. derogatory), and status (e.g. obsolete). Lexicography: the art/science/craft of writing dictionaries. A lexicographer is a writer of dictionaries. (“A harmless drudge that busies himself in tracing the original, and detailing the signification of words,” according to Samuel Johnson. Fair enough, he should know.) Obsolete: describing a word as no longer in use. (For OED’s purposes, that means we haven’t found any evidence of it after 1930.) Poddery: podcasting? We thought it sounded fun. It's not in OED...yet. Sense: any of the various distinct meanings of a particular word. Slip: a postcard-sized piece of paper containing an illustrative quotation or other useful bit of lexicographical information, written by an editor or volunteer reader. (The first edition alone generated over five million of them.) Small-type note: text (in small type!) that sits under the main definition, where we can add extra, useful information that doesn’t fit in the main definition itself. Update: a new version of OED, including new and revised entries, as published four times a year on oed.com (http://oed.com). Also called a release.
9 Sept 2026
Lifting the lid on linguistic history: the toilet through the centuries
When was a toilet worn on the head? Is gong farming a valid career opportunity? Where might you pay a visit to the cludgie? In this episode lexicographers Craig Leyland and Fiona McPherson display the OED’s historical scope by getting to the bottom of the language of loos. Join us for another episode in two weeks (September 23rd) when we’ll be looking at new words in the OED’s September 2026 update including mountweazel, and talking to our colleague Jonathan Dent about some recently revised entries. P.S. The entries toilet n. and loo n.4 are freely available to all at oed.com (http://oed.com) for three months from the date of publication of this episode. www.oed.com (http://www.oed.com) lexipoddery@oup.com (mailto:lexipoddery@oup.com) www.oed.com/discover/toilet (http://www.oed.com/discover/toilet) Music by Matt Cutmore Glossary Antedating: an occurrence of a word, phrase, or sense, which predates the earliest use previously known or recorded. Collocation: the habitual juxtaposition or association of a particular word with other particular words; a group of words so associated. Compound: two or more words put together to make a new word or phrase (like hot sauce, nutcracker, or Greenwich Mean Time). Entry: a section of a dictionary devoted to a particular word, starting with the headword and including the etymology, pronunciation, senses, compounds, etc. Etymology: the origin and historical development of a word; the process of investigating this. Headword: the word you look up, at the start of the entry; the word that is being defined. Homonym: for OED purposes, homonyms are words that share the same spelling and part of speech, but have different etymological origins, and are therefore separate entries with their own homonym numbers (e.g. dog n.1 – the animal – and dog. n.2 – a euphemistic alteration of ‘god’). More broadly though, homonyms are words that have different meanings and origins but are either spelled the same (homographs) or sound the same (homophones). Isogloss: the boundary of an area of local concentration or dominance of a significant linguistic feature, e.g. pronunciation. Label: OED adds labels to words, when useful for readers, to give information on region (e.g. South African), subject (e.g. U.S. history), register (e.g. slang), usage (e.g. derogatory), and status (e.g. obsolete). Lexicography: the art/science/craft of writing dictionaries. A lexicographer is a writer of dictionaries. (“A harmless drudge that busies himself in tracing the original, and detailing the signification of words,” according to Samuel Johnson. Fair enough, he should know.) Obsolete: describing a word as no longer in use. (For OED’s purposes, that means we haven’t found any evidence of it after 1930.) Poddery: podcasting? We thought it sounded fun. It's not in OED...yet. Sense: any of the various distinct meanings of a particular word. Slip: a postcard-sized piece of paper containing an illustrative quotation or other useful bit of lexicographical information, written by an editor or volunteer reader. (The first edition alone generated over five million of them.) Small-type note: text (in small type!) that sits under the main definition, where we can add extra, useful information that doesn’t fit in the main definition itself. Update: a new version of OED, including new and revised entries, as published four times a year on oed.com (http://oed.com). Also called a release.
26 Aug 2026
A visit to the OED archives, and some markworthy missives
How would we describe Tolkien’s handwriting? What did Thomas Hardy want to tell us? Why did we get a Snoopy letter? Lexicographers Fiona McPherson and Craig Leyland are joined by the OED’s archivist Beverley McCulloch to discuss the preservation of our historical record, and some of the notable correspondence within it. Join us for another episode in two weeks (September 9th), when we’ll look at how the OED can trace a subject through the centuries; in this case, the history of the toilet. It’ll be interesting, honest! www.oed.com (http://www.oed.com) lexipoddery@oup.com (mailto:lexipoddery@oup.com) Music by Matt Cutmore Glossary Antedating: an occurrence of a word, phrase, or sense, which predates the earliest use previously known or recorded. Collocation: the habitual juxtaposition or association of a particular word with other particular words; a group of words so associated. Compound: two or more words put together to make a new word or phrase (like hot sauce, nutcracker, or Greenwich Mean Time). Entry: a section of a dictionary devoted to a particular word, starting with the headword and including the etymology, pronunciation, senses, compounds, etc. Etymology: the origin and historical development of a word; the process of investigating this. Headword: the word you look up, at the start of the entry; the word that is being defined. Homonym: for OED purposes, homonyms are words that share the same spelling and part of speech, but have different etymological origins, and are therefore separate entries with their own homonym numbers (e.g. dog n.1 – the animal – and dog. n.2 – a euphemistic alteration of ‘god’). More broadly though, homonyms are words that have different meanings and origins but are either spelled the same (homographs) or sound the same (homophones). Isogloss: the boundary of an area of local concentration or dominance of a significant linguistic feature, e.g. pronunciation. Label: OED adds labels to words, when useful for readers, to give information on region (e.g. South African), subject (e.g. U.S. history), register (e.g. slang), usage (e.g. derogatory), and status (e.g. obsolete). Lexicography: the art/science/craft of writing dictionaries. A lexicographer is a writer of dictionaries. (“A harmless drudge that busies himself in tracing the original, and detailing the signification of words,” according to Samuel Johnson. Fair enough, he should know.) Obsolete: describing a word as no longer in use. (For OED’s purposes, that means we haven’t found any evidence of it after 1930.) Poddery: podcasting? We thought it sounded fun. It's not in OED...yet. Sense: any of the various distinct meanings of a particular word. Slip: a postcard-sized piece of paper containing an illustrative quotation or other useful bit of lexicographical information, written by an editor or volunteer reader. (The first edition alone generated over five million of them.) Small-type note: text (in small type!) that sits under the main definition, where we can add extra, useful information that doesn’t fit in the main definition itself. Update: a new version of OED, including new and revised entries, as published four times a year on oed.com (http://oed.com). Also called a release.
12 Aug 2026
We’re not in Kansas anymore, Mrs Robinson: cinema’s influence on English
Which film gave us the paparazzi? Why might we turn something up to eleven? Who first knew where the bodies are buried? Join lexicographers Craig Leyland and Fiona McPherson to view the language of cinema through an Oxford English Dictionary lens. Come back for another episode in two weeks (August 26th), when we’ll be joined by the OED’s archivist Beverley McCulloch, to discuss her work preserving the dictionary’s historical record as well as some of the notable correspondence we’ve kept on file. www.oed.com (http://www.oed.com) lexipoddery@oup.com (mailto:lexipoddery@oup.com) https://www.oed.com/discover/film-words-oed-september-2018-update/?tl=true (https://www.oed.com/discover/film-words-oed-september-2018-update/?tl=true) https://www.oed.com/discover/the-language-of-films/ (https://www.oed.com/discover/the-language-of-films/) Music by Matt Cutmore Glossary Antedating: an occurrence of a word, phrase, or sense, which predates the earliest use previously known or recorded. Collocation: the habitual juxtaposition or association of a particular word with other particular words; a group of words so associated. Compound: two or more words put together to make a new word or phrase (like hot sauce, nutcracker, or Greenwich Mean Time). Entry: a section of a dictionary devoted to a particular word, starting with the headword and including the etymology, pronunciation, senses, compounds, etc. Etymology: the origin and historical development of a word; the process of investigating this. Headword: the word you look up, at the start of the entry; the word that is being defined. Homonym: for OED purposes, homonyms are words that share the same spelling and part of speech, but have different etymological origins, and are therefore separate entries with their own homonym numbers (e.g. dog n.1 – the animal – and dog. n.2 – a euphemistic alteration of ‘god’). More broadly though, homonyms are words that have different meanings and origins but are either spelled the same (homographs) or sound the same (homophones). Isogloss: the boundary of an area of local concentration or dominance of a significant linguistic feature, e.g. pronunciation. Label: OED adds labels to words, when useful for readers, to give information on region (e.g. South African), subject (e.g. U.S. history), register (e.g. slang), usage (e.g. derogatory), and status (e.g. obsolete). Lexicography: the art/science/craft of writing dictionaries. A lexicographer is a writer of dictionaries. (“A harmless drudge that busies himself in tracing the original, and detailing the signification of words,” according to Samuel Johnson. Fair enough, he should know.) Obsolete: describing a word as no longer in use. (For OED’s purposes, that means we haven’t found any evidence of it after 1930.) Poddery: podcasting? We thought it sounded fun. It's not in OED...yet. Sense: any of the various distinct meanings of a particular word. Small-type note: text (in small type!) that sits under the main definition, where we can add extra, useful information that doesn’t fit in the main definition itself. Update: a new version of OED, including new and revised entries, as published four times a year on oed.com (http://oed.com). Also called a release.
1 Jul 2026
Horse doovers, humblebrags, and scientific banjos: it’s the June update of the OED
Why is a zoologist interested in banjos? When is a brag humble? And what are horse doovers anyway? Join lexicographers Fiona McPherson and Craig Leyland to learn about the June 2026 update of the OED, and hear from fellow editor Mike Timpany on life as part of the OED’s science group. (Apologies for the variable sound quality in this one; at least it's proof that this is made by dictionary writers, not podcast professionals!) This is the last episode of our first season, so we're having a little break to catch up on our real work; that dictionary isn't going to write itself, after all. We'll return with a bunch of new episodes in six weeks, when we'll probably be talking about (among other things) the language of cinema, and notable correspondence in the OED's archives. We hope very much that you'll join us again then. www.oed.com (http://www.oed.com) www.oed.com/information/updates/june-2026/ (https://www.oed.com/information/updates/june-2026/) lexipoddery@oup.com (mailto:lexipoddery@oup.com) Music by Matt Cutmore Glossary Antedating: an occurrence of a word, phrase, or sense, which predates the earliest use previously known or recorded. Collocation: the habitual juxtaposition or association of a particular word with other particular words; a group of words so associated. Compound: two or more words put together to make a new word or phrase (like hot sauce, nutcracker, or Greenwich Mean Time). Entry: a section of a dictionary devoted to a particular word, starting with the headword and including the etymology, pronunciation, senses, compounds, etc. Etymology: the origin and historical development of a word; the process of investigating this. Headword: the word you look up, at the start of the entry; the word that is being defined. Homonym: for OED purposes, homonyms are words that share the same spelling and part of speech, but have different etymological origins, and are therefore separate entries with their own homonym numbers (e.g. dog n.1 – the animal – and dog. n.2 – a euphemistic alteration of ‘god’). More broadly though, homonyms are words that have different meanings and origins but are either spelled the same (homographs) or sound the same (homophones). Isogloss: the boundary of an area of local concentration or dominance of a significant linguistic feature, e.g. pronunciation. Label: OED adds labels to words, when useful for readers, to give information on region (e.g. South African), subject (e.g. U.S. history), register (e.g. slang), usage (e.g. derogatory), and status (e.g. obsolete). Lexicography: the art/science/craft of writing dictionaries. A lexicographer is a writer of dictionaries. (“A harmless drudge that busies himself in tracing the original, and detailing the signification of words,” according to Samuel Johnson. Fair enough, he should know.) Obsolete: describing a word as no longer in use. (For OED’s purposes, that means we haven’t found any evidence of it after 1930.) Poddery: podcasting? We thought it sounded fun. It's not in OED...yet. Sense: any of the various distinct meanings of a particular word. Small-type note: text (in small type!) that sits under the main definition, where we can add extra, useful information that doesn’t fit in the main definition itself. Update: a new version of OED, including new and revised entries, as published four times a year on oed.com (http://oed.com). Also called a release.
10 Jun 2026
Squeaky bums and magic sponges: the language of football (or soccer, if you prefer)
Why do tense moments lead to squeaky bums? What wizardry lies in the magic sponge? Who would want to hit an onion bag? Join Oxford English Dictionary lexicographers Craig Leyland and Fiona McPherson to celebrate the start of the football World Cup with a perusal of OED entries relating to the beautiful game. Come back for another episode in three weeks (July 1st), when we’ll be looking at some of the particularly interesting new and revised material in the OED’s June 2026 update. www.oed.com (http://www.oed.com) www.oed.com/thesaurus (https://www.oed.com/thesaurus) lexipoddery@oup.com (mailto:lexipoddery@oup.com) Music by Matt Cutmore Glossary Antedating: an occurrence of a word, phrase, or sense, which predates the earliest use previously known or recorded. Collocation: the habitual juxtaposition or association of a particular word with other particular words; a group of words so associated. Compound: two or more words put together to make a new word or phrase (like hot sauce, nutcracker, or Greenwich Mean Time). Entry: a section of a dictionary devoted to a particular word, starting with the headword and including the etymology, pronunciation, senses, compounds, etc. Etymology: the origin and historical development of a word; the process of investigating this. Headword: the word you look up, at the start of the entry; the word that is being defined. Homonym: for OED purposes, homonyms are words that share the same spelling and part of speech, but have different etymological origins, and are therefore separate entries with their own homonym numbers (e.g. dog n.1 – the animal – and dog. n.2 – a euphemistic alteration of ‘god’). More broadly though, homonyms are words that have different meanings and origins but are either spelled the same (homographs) or sound the same (homophones). Isogloss: the boundary of an area of local concentration or dominance of a significant linguistic feature, e.g. pronunciation. Label: OED adds labels to words, when useful for readers, to give information on region (e.g. South African), subject (e.g. U.S. history), register (e.g. slang), usage (e.g. derogatory), and status (e.g. obsolete). Lexicography: the art/science/craft of writing dictionaries. A lexicographer is a writer of dictionaries. (“A harmless drudge that busies himself in tracing the original, and detailing the signification of words,” according to Samuel Johnson. Fair enough, he should know.) Obsolete: describing a word as no longer in use. (For OED’s purposes, that means we haven’t found any evidence of it after 1930.) Poddery: podcasting? We thought it sounded fun. It's not in OED...yet. Sense: any of the various distinct meanings of a particular word. Small-type note: text (in small type!) that sits under the main definition, where we can add extra, useful information that doesn’t fit in the main definition itself. Update: a new version of OED, including new and revised entries, as published four times a year on oed.com (http://oed.com). Also called a release.
27 May 2026
Surprising sources: song lyrics and more in the OED
Which word did we get from a hen in fine clothes? Who made a mullet into a red herring? What’s a rapper’s favourite dairy foodstuff? Join lexicographers Fiona McPherson and Craig Leyland to learn about the influence of song lyrics on the OED, and the importance of bibliography for a historical dictionary. Come back for another episode in two weeks (June 10th), when we’ll be getting ready for the World Cup by looking at football (soccer) words and phrases in the OED. www.oed.com (http://www.oed.com) lexipoddery@oup.com (mailto:lexipoddery@oup.com) https://therightrhymes.com/ (https://therightrhymes.com/) Music by Matt Cutmore Glossary Antedating: an occurrence of a word, phrase, or sense, which predates the earliest use previously known or recorded. Collocation: the habitual juxtaposition or association of a particular word with other particular words; a group of words so associated. Compound: two or more words put together to make a new word or phrase (like hot sauce, nutcracker, or Greenwich Mean Time). Entry: a section of a dictionary devoted to a particular word, starting with the headword and including the etymology, pronunciation, senses, compounds, etc. Etymology: the origin and historical development of a word; the process of investigating this. Headword: the word you look up, at the start of the entry; the word that is being defined. Homonym: for OED purposes, homonyms are words that share the same spelling and part of speech, but have different etymological origins, and are therefore separate entries with their own homonym numbers (e.g. dog n.1 – the animal – and dog. n.2 – a euphemistic alteration of ‘god’). More broadly though, homonyms are words that have different meanings and origins but are either spelled the same (homographs) or sound the same (homophones). Isogloss: the boundary of an area of local concentration or dominance of a significant linguistic feature, e.g. pronunciation. Label: OED adds labels to words, when useful for readers, to give information on region (e.g. South African), subject (e.g. U.S. history), register (e.g. slang), usage (e.g. derogatory), and status (e.g. obsolete). Lexicography: the art/science/craft of writing dictionaries. A lexicographer is a writer of dictionaries. (“A harmless drudge that busies himself in tracing the original, and detailing the signification of words,” according to Samuel Johnson. Fair enough, he should know.) Obsolete: describing a word as no longer in use. (For OED’s purposes, that means we haven’t found any evidence of it after 1930.) Poddery: podcasting? We thought it sounded fun. It's not in OED...yet. Sense: any of the various distinct meanings of a particular word. Small-type note: text (in small type!) that sits under the main definition, where we can add extra, useful information that doesn’t fit in the main definition itself. Update: a new version of OED, including new and revised entries, as published four times a year on oed.com (http://oed.com). Also called a release.
13 May 2026
English with an accent: regional words and pronunciations
Should a Scot be worried if her jacket is on a shoogly peg? Why is a Yorkshireman still influenced by the Vikings? How do we figure out how to pronounce obscure words? Join lexicographers Craig Leyland and Fiona McPherson to find out more about regional English in the Oxford English Dictionary, with specific reference to Scotland and Yorkshire, and hear Dr Catherine Sangster talk about her work as head of the OED’s pronunciations team. Come back for another episode in two weeks (May 27th), when we’ll be looking at song lyrics in the OED, and the importance of bibliography. www.oed.com (http://www.oed.com) lexipoddery@oup.com (mailto:lexipoddery@oup.com) Music by Matt Cutmore Glossary Antedating: an occurrence of a word, phrase, or sense, which predates the earliest use previously known or recorded. Collocation: the habitual juxtaposition or association of a particular word with other particular words; a group of words so associated. Compound: two or more words put together to make a new word or phrase (like hot sauce, nutcracker, or Greenwich Mean Time). Entry: a section of a dictionary devoted to a particular word, starting with the headword and including the etymology, pronunciation, senses, compounds, etc. Etymology: the origin and historical development of a word; the process of investigating this. Headword: the word you look up, at the start of the entry; the word that is being defined. Homonym: for OED's purposes, homonyms are words that share the same spelling and part of speech, but have different etymological origins, and are therefore separate entries with their own homonym numbers (e.g. dog n.1 – the animal – and dog. n.2 – a euphemistic alteration of ‘god’). More broadly though, homonyms are words that have different meanings and origins but are either spelled the same (homographs) or sound the same (homophones). Isogloss: the boundary of an area of local concentration or dominance of a significant linguistic feature, e.g. pronunciation. Label: OED adds labels to words, when useful for readers, to give information on region (e.g. South African), subject (e.g. U.S. history), register (e.g. slang), usage (e.g. derogatory), and status (e.g. obsolete). Lexicography: the art/science/craft of writing dictionaries. A lexicographer is a writer of dictionaries. (“A harmless drudge that busies himself in tracing the original, and detailing the signification of words,” according to Samuel Johnson. Fair enough, he should know.) Obsolete: describing a word as no longer in use. (For OED’s purposes, that means we haven’t found any evidence of it after 1930.) Poddery: podcasting? We thought it sounded fun. It's not in OED...yet. Sense: any of the various distinct meanings of a particular word. Small-type note: text (in small type!) that sits under the main definition, where we can add extra, useful information that doesn’t fit in the main definition itself. Update: a new version of OED, including new and revised entries, as published four times a year on oed.com (http://oed.com). Also called a release.
29 Apr 2026
The history of the OED: do we know our Onions (sic)?
What happened in the Scriptorium? Where did radium go? What’s the unsolved mystery of editor Charles Onions? Join Fiona McPherson and Craig Leyland for stories about the OED's history from Dr Peter Gilliver, fellow lexicographer and author of ‘The Making of the Oxford English Dictionary’. Come back for another episode in two weeks (May 13th), when we’ll be discussing regional English (with specific reference to Scotland and Yorkshire) and talking to OED’s head of pronunciation, Dr Catherine Sangster. www.oed.com (http://www.oed.com) lexipoddery@oup.com (mailto:lexipoddery@oup.com) https://themakersoftheoed.wordpress.com/ (https://themakersoftheoed.wordpress.com/) Music by Matt Cutmore. Glossary Antedating: an occurrence of a word, phrase, or sense, which predates the earliest use previously known or recorded. Collocation: the habitual juxtaposition or association of a particular word with other particular words; a group of words so associated. Compound: two or more words put together to make a new word or phrase (like hot sauce, nutcracker, or Greenwich Mean Time). Entry: a section of a dictionary devoted to a particular word, starting with the headword and including the etymology, pronunciation, senses, compounds, etc. Etymology: the origin and historical development of a word; the process of investigating this. Headword: the word you look up, at the start of the entry; the word that is being defined. Label: OED adds labels to words, when useful for readers, to give information on region (e.g. South African), subject (e.g. U.S. history), register (e.g. slang), usage (e.g. derogatory), and status (e.g. obsolete). Lexicography: the art/science/craft of writing dictionaries. A lexicographer is a writer of dictionaries. (“A harmless drudge that busies himself in tracing the original, and detailing the signification of words,” according to Samuel Johnson. Fair enough, he should know.) Obsolete: describing a word as no longer in use. (For OED’s purposes, that means we haven’t found any evidence of it after 1930.) Poddery: podcasting? We thought it sounded fun. It's not in OED...yet. Sense: any of the various distinct meanings of a particular word. Small-type note: text (in small type!) that sits under the main definition, where we can add extra, useful information that doesn’t fit in the main definition itself. Update: a new version of OED, including new and revised entries, as published four times a year on oed.com (http://oed.com). Also called a release.
15 Apr 2026
Digital discussion, Sherlockian sleuthing
What impact has Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had on the Oxford English Dictionary, and how did The Hound of the Baskervilles prompt us to update an entry? Why does tech terminology owe a lot to our fingers? What’s the longest word in the OED? (Depending on what you mean by longest.) Join lexicographers Craig Leyland and Fiona McPherson to find out. Come back for another episode in two weeks (April 29th), when we’ll be talking to our colleague Dr Peter Gilliver about the history of the OED and how he wrote a book on the subject. (Apologies from Craig for my occasionally suboptimal mic use in this episode – we’re learning as we go! Plus I had a cold…) www.oed.com (http://www.oed.com) lexipoddery@oup.com (mailto:lexipoddery@oup.com) Music by Matt Cutmore. Glossary Antedating: an occurrence of a word, phrase, or sense, which predates the earliest use previously known or recorded. Collocation: the habitual juxtaposition or association of a particular word with other particular words; a group of words so associated. Compound: two or more words put together to make a new word or phrase (like hot sauce, nutcracker, or Greenwich Mean Time). Entry: a section of a dictionary devoted to a particular word, starting with the headword and including the etymology, pronunciation, senses, compounds, etc. Etymology: the origin and historical development of a word; the process of investigating this. Headword: the word you look up, at the start of the entry; the word that is being defined. Lexicography: the art/science/craft of writing dictionaries. A lexicographer is a writer of dictionaries. (“A harmless drudge that busies himself in tracing the original, and detailing the signification of words,” according to Samuel Johnson. Fair enough, he should know.) Obsolete: describing a word as no longer in use. (For OED’s purposes, that means we haven’t found any evidence of it after 1930.) Poddery: podcasting? We thought it sounded fun. It's not in OED...yet. Sense: any of the various distinct meanings of a particular word. Small-type note: text (in small type!) that sits under the main definition, where we can add extra, useful information that doesn’t fit in the main definition itself. Update: a new version of OED, including new and revised entries, as published four times a year on oed.com (http://oed.com). Also called a release.
26 Mar 2026
Welcome to the OED podcast - don't doomscroll!
For how long have we doomscrolled, and what’s the cure? Who popularized the glitch? Why is snobbery just a load of old cobblers? Join lexicographers Fiona McPherson and Craig Leyland to find out how the Oxford English Dictionary answers these questions and more in its March 2026 update. Come back for another episode on April 15th, when we’ll be talking about the history of the word digital; the impact Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, had on the English language; and the longest word in the OED. https://www.oed.com (https://www.oed.com/?tl=true) https://www.oed.com/information/updates/march-2026/ (https://www.oed.com/information/updates/march-2025/) lexipoddery@oup.com (mailto:lexipoddery@oup.com) Music by Matt Cutmore. Glossary Antedating: an occurrence of a word, phrase, or sense, which predates the earliest use previously known or recorded. Collocation: the habitual juxtaposition or association of a particular word with other particular words; a group of words so associated. Compound: two or more words put together to make a new word or phrase (like hot sauce, nutcracker, or Greenwich Mean Time). Entry: a section of a dictionary devoted to a particular word, starting with the headword and including the etymology, pronunciation, senses, compounds, etc. Etymology: the origin and historical development of a word; the process of investigating this. Headword: the word you look up, at the start of the entry; the word that is being defined. Lexicography: the art/science/craft of writing dictionaries. A lexicographer is a writer of dictionaries. (“A harmless drudge that busies himself in tracing the original, and detailing the signification of words,” according to Samuel Johnson. Fair enough, he should know.) Obsolete: describing a word as no longer in use. (For OED’s purposes, that means we haven’t found any evidence of it after 1930.) Poddery: podcasting? We thought it sounded fun. It's not in OED...yet. Sense: any of the various distinct meanings of a particular word. Small-type note: text (in small type!) that sits under the main definition, where we can add extra, useful information that doesn’t fit in the main definition itself. Update: a new version of OED, including new and revised entries, as published four times a year on oed.com. Also called a release.
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