Garbl's Word Links--Spelling and Vocabulary too

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Garbl's Word Links is an annotated directory of Web sites that can help you discover, understand and use (or avoid) Latin and Greek derivations, misused words, unusual words, word origins, new words and slang. You'll also find separate sections below on spelling and vocabulary.

Words can and do break bones--Gary B. Larson, Seattle, Washington, April 23, 1999.
Personal commentary on verbal abuse and the misuse of language.

Garbl's Editorial Style Manual--This style guide can help answer your writing questions about abbreviations, capitalization, grammar, numbers, organization terminology, punctuation, spelling and word usage. The Concise Writing Guide provides simpler alternatives to wordy, verbose, overstated or pompous words and phrases.

Banished Words List--Lake Superior State University, Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.

"Words and phrases banished from the Queen's English for Mis-, Mal- or Over-Use, as well as General Uselessness"

Borrowed Words in the English Language--Kryss Katsiavriades, contract computer analyst and programmer with a software consultancy in London.

The site title says it all, covering languages from Algonquin to Zuni.

Earliest Known Uses of Some Words of Mathematics--Jeff Miller, math teacher at Gulf High School in New Port Richey, Florida

As the page title says... complete with well-documented sources.

Lexical FreeNet--Doug Beeferman, a graduate student (now on leave and working at Lycos) in the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

As a combination thesaurus, rhyming dictionary, pun generator and concept navigator, this site enables you to search for relationships between words, concepts and people.

The Mavens' Word of the Day--Jesse Sheidlower, author of Jesse's Word of the Day: From Abacinate to Yonic (1998), a senior editor in Random House's Reference Division. Book available through my association with Amazon.com.

Daily explanation about new words, word origins, slang expressions and so on. Send in your etymology questions or browse the word archive.

The Nautical Origins of Some Common Expressions--Bill Graf, Fort Ogden Design, Internet page design

From "a square meal" to "the whole nine yards" to " garbled ": Garbling was the prohibited practice of mixing rubbish with the cargo. A distorted, mixed up message was said to be garbled--until this Web site sailed in !

New Words in English--Associate Professor Suzanne Kemmer, Rice University, Houston, Texas

These neologisms and novel uses of words in English were collected by students in Kemmer's Linguistics 215, Words in English: Struture, History and Use.

The Online Slang Dictionary--Walter Rader, student at University of California at Berkeley

A well-organized, easy-to-use, alphabetical list of English slang.

Origin of Phrases, Sayings, Terms and Clichés--Chuck Moreland

Phrases like knock on wood, red letter day and life of Riley usually have meaning that goes beyond the words in the phrase. This page investigates how common phrases came to be.

Standard English words [that] have a Scandinavian Etymology--The Viking Network, Wigo H. Skramm, project director, Fetsund, Norway

A long list of standard English words that describe actions or the states of things--with the source or the present-day associations.

Wilton's Word & Phrase Origins --David R. Wilton, Albany, California.

A site devoted to origins of words and slang phrases.

The Word Detective--Online version of a newspaper column by Evan Morris, author of The Book Lover's Guide to the Internet (1998). Morris' collection of Word Detective columns is available through my association with Amazon.com

Answers to readers' questions about words and language.

The Word Wizard--Rufus Miles in the United Kingdom.

Answers your questions about word derivations and offers a selection of new words, slang meanings, snappy quotations and elegant insults.

World Wide Words--Michael Quinion, British editor for the Oxford Dictionary and New Words columnist for the Daily Telegraph .

More than 400 pages on the history, origins, evolution and idiosyncrasies of English, regularly featuring new words and words in the news.

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Spelling

Absolutely Ridiculous English Spelling--Mikie Metric Productions, Williamsport, Pennsylvania

Spelling rules, memory tricks, examples and charts covering the nearly trackless jungle of ridiculous English spelling.

Everyday Spelling--Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Educational Publishers Inc.

For students in grades one through eight, this site includes a new spelling puzzle and word every week and the 25 most frequently misspelled words and spelling strategies for each grade.

Free Spelling Course--Marie Rackham, retired public school English teacher, Campbell River, British Columbia, Canada

Thirty-unit course includes weekly work plan, pre-tests, exercises, dictation sentences, final tests, answer key and bonus unit on the rules of spelling.

Some Rules and Suggestions about Spelling--Charles Darling, professor of English/humanities, Capital Community-Technical College, Hartford, Connecticut.

Suggestions cover using spell-checkers, dictionaries and mnemonics; homonyms and plurals; "sounding it out"; British spellings; five specific rules; and several quizzes.

Spelling--Purdue University Online Writing Lab, West Lafayette, Indiana

Includes information and exercises on sound-alike words, the i before e rule, noun plurals and numbers.

Spelling--Dorothy Turner, Writing Centre, University of Ottawa

Focuses on four standard spelling rules: words with "ei" and "ie," words with a final "y" before a suffix, words with a final silent "e" and words with double consonants.

Spelling it Right--Learn to Spell Confidently--Roger Smith, a retired English and media studies teacher at a north England comprehensive school

More than 70 pages of advice on tackling spelling problems and worksheet exercises, each comprising a complete lesson designed to improve spelling skills.

SpellWeb--Steve Nelson, Clear Ink Corp., Web site developer, Walnut Creek, California

Not sure which spelling is right? Enter both versions, and let the Web decide, using the Infoseek, Excite and FAST search engines

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Vocabulary

The Ten Best Vocabulary Learning Tips--Sheppard Software, Jenkintown, Pennsylvania

Explains tips ranging from "Read, Read, Read!" to "Use mnemonics" to "Get excited about words!"

Tips for Vocabulary improvement--J.L. McGrath, Paradise Valley Community College, Phoenix, Arizona

Some strategies for unlocking the meanings of new words and a process for remembering the new words and their meanings.

Vocabulary Improvement: Considerations, Ways and Means--Learning Skills Center, University of Texas at Austin

Tips on how to improve your usage vocabulary and your recognition vocabulary.

A.Word.A.Day--Anu Garg, Internet engineer for AT&T Labs.

Web site for the free AWAD mailing list that sends a vocabulary word and its definition to subscribers every day.

Word Safari--Ruth M. Pettis, designer and proofreader in Seattle, Washington

A playful approach to vocabulary acquisition, launching users on Web surfing expeditions to see how the featured words and expressions are used in context.

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Created by Gary B. Larson of Seattle, Washington, garbltoo@gmail.com.

Updated June 9, 2008.