word play

one of my favorite things to do is read the dictionary. i know, i'm a big nerd. i've come to terms with it, it's okay. this also means that i get really excited when words are added to the dictionary. a few weeks ago, i saw the little notice in the paper announcing the eleventh edition of the merriam-webster dictionary. yay for 100 new words!!! my top two favorites (thus far) are pescatarian-a vegetarian who eats fish and mondegreen-words mistaken for other words. how could one not be fascinated by a vegetarian (defined as a person who does not eat or does not believe in eating meat, FISH, fowl, or, in some cases, any food derived from animals, as eggs or cheese, but subsists on vegetables, fruits, nuts, grain, etc.) who eats fish? [i'm sensing a self-deconstruction in the near future.] or perhaps trying to classify the differences between "excuse me while I kiss this guy" and "excuse me while I kiss the sky"? i'm once again reminded of my linguistics class and totally intrigued by the noises that our mouths make and the subtle differences that make drastic changes in final outcomes. language is such a fascinating thing. how in the world do we make sounds, identify them, and then standardize them? who really has the power to do that?(that's another question for another day...) yay for the evolution of language! yes. there was a very good reason that i studied words...