‘The Suits,’ ‘Light Bulb Went Off,’ and ‘Tree Lawn’: Investigations of a Language Nerd

Robert Blake, as Baretta, with Fred, his cockatoo. Blake probably coined “the suits.” (Image via Wikimedia Commons)

When William Wordsworth wrote, “Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive,” he was referring to his youthful experiencing of the French Revolution, albeit from afar. Today doesn’t seem like a particularly blissful time, but it sure is if you research language usage as a job, pastime, or somewhere in between. Proprietary resources like the online Oxford English Dictionary, Green’s Dicti...