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That Word Chat @thatwordchat.bsky.social · 1d

Thanks to Stefan Fatsis for joining us on #ThatWordChat today.

Check out his new book Unabridged and see where he'll be speaking next: www.bystefanfatsis.com/unabridged

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That Word Chat @thatwordchat.bsky.social · 1d

There’s no space limit online. Depth and detail are still possible. “But if the argument is that we need paper to preserve it... I get that. I wrote a whole chapter in my book about paper.” -Fatsis #ThatWordChat

That Word Chat @thatwordchat.bsky.social · 1d

Q: If Merriam isn’t updating the Unabridged, is anyone preserving today’s language for future generations in print?

Fatsis: “Merriam would say, we’re updating every day. Just not in the form of a printed unabridged.” #ThatWordChat

That Word Chat @thatwordchat.bsky.social · 1d

Fatsis leaned on reporting, usage research, and revision. “I’d scour hundreds of citations, draft, and re-draft, and rely on my editors to help me shape the entries.” #ThatWordChat

That Word Chat @thatwordchat.bsky.social · 1d

On what makes defining difficult: “It was partly imposter syndrome." Fatsis compares it to his NFL book. “I felt more comfortable at Broncos training camp than at Merriam. I could kick a football. But I couldn’t match the speed or nuance of real lexicographers.” #ThatWordChat

That Word Chat @thatwordchat.bsky.social · 1d

Canada offers a contrast. There’s now a grassroots effort to create a new Canadian dictionary. “It’s a nascent project, but there’s a need, and they’re working on it.” -Fatsis #ThatWordChat

That Word Chat @thatwordchat.bsky.social · 1d

“The one model that hasn’t been tried in American lexicography is a hybrid: part philanthropic, part institutional, and committed to long-term linguistic research.” -Fatsis #ThatWordChat

That Word Chat @thatwordchat.bsky.social · 1d

U.S. dictionaries have always been commercially driven. “It’s been a business and often a cutthroat one.” Successful new models in journalism may point the way. “Nonprofit, philanthropic, maybe university-affiliated, but still paying people to do the work of lexicography.” -Fatsis #ThatWordChat

That Word Chat @thatwordchat.bsky.social · 1d

On the future of American dictionaries: Fatsis suggests the U.S. might need a public-private approach, similar to the Historical Dictionary of American English published at UChicago in the 1930s–40s. #ThatWordChat

That Word Chat @thatwordchat.bsky.social · 1d

“It went viral. Headlines said Merriam was trolling Apple. Ultimately, the quotation was removed, not because it was inaccurate, but because it wasn’t doing its job anymore.” -Fatsis #ThatWordChat

That Word Chat @thatwordchat.bsky.social · 1d

Another word Fatsis worked on is “sheeple.” He submitted a quote from a CNN review of an iPhone case, using sheeple to describe brand loyalty among Apple users. #ThatWordChat

That Word Chat @thatwordchat.bsky.social · 1d

“That was my proudest moment,” Fatsis says. It became the 16th transitive verb sense of run—a word lexicographers know is among the most complex in the English language. #ThatWordChat

That Word Chat @thatwordchat.bsky.social · 1d

That said, Fatsis did get several entries into the dictionary, including a brand-new sense of run used in baseball: “The umpire ran the manager after the argument.” #ThatWordChat

That Word Chat @thatwordchat.bsky.social · 1d

Q: Did Fatsis have an observer effect? Did his presence at Merriam change anything?

A: “No. My entries were edited just like anyone else’s. Probably more so.” #ThatWordChat

That Word Chat @thatwordchat.bsky.social · 1d

“It was really hard. Days, weeks to draft a single entry. I came in thinking, I’ve written 100,000-word books. How hard can a 100-word entry be? Turns out—very.” -Fatsis #ThatWordChat

That Word Chat @thatwordchat.bsky.social · 1d

He was given a cubicle, a copy of Webster’s Third and the Collegiate, and access to tools both old and new, including Gove’s Black Books, once used to guide defining. #ThatWordChat

That Word Chat @thatwordchat.bsky.social · 1d

On arriving at Merriam-Webster: “They were incredibly accommodating. It reminded me of my time with the Denver Broncos, just without 320-pound linemen.” -Fatsis #ThatWordChat

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That Word Chat @thatwordchat.bsky.social · 1d

“If we decide crowdsourced or AI-overviewed definitions are ‘good enough,’ I think that’s a failure societally.: -Fatsis #ThatWordChat

That Word Chat @thatwordchat.bsky.social · 1d

But Fatsis argues isn’t enough. “Language doesn’t stop evolving. There’s real value in professional curation. What’s more important than the curation of language?” #ThatWordChat

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That Word Chat @thatwordchat.bsky.social · 1d

On searching for definitions online: “People will Google the word, and whatever shows up first—AI-generated, licensed, or crowd-sourced—is often ‘enough.’” - Fatsis #ThatWordChat

That Word Chat @thatwordchat.bsky.social · 1d

Where does Fatsis go first to look up a word? “I just go to Merriam. I’m loyal.” #ThatWordChat

That Word Chat @thatwordchat.bsky.social · 1d

“In print, the cycle was predictable—ramp up before a new edition, then scale down. But in the digital age, the dictionary never stops. It’s more like a news cycle.” - Fatsis #ThatWordChat

That Word Chat @thatwordchat.bsky.social · 1d

Fatsis compares it to newspapers: even with digital offerings, few are matching the revenue of the print era. “I’d be shocked if they make a lot of money on the new edition. Margins aren’t bad, but clearly, print is no longer the primary or best medium for documenting language change.” #ThatWordChat

That Word Chat @thatwordchat.bsky.social · 1d

And yet, Fatsis says Merriam is thriving. “They’ve leaned into games, apps, newsletters... content that would’ve been unimaginable 30 years ago in the lexicography business.” #ThatWordChat

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That Word Chat @thatwordchat.bsky.social · 1d

Visibility is also a growing issue. Google’s knowledge panels often surface AI- or search-engine-defined content above traditional dictionary links. #ThatWordChat