Finding the true history of words, with Ben Zimmer

<p>1129. This week, we talk with Ben Zimmer about the linguistic detective work of antedating words — finding earlier usages than those published in dictionaries. We look at the surprising origins of "Ms.," "scallywag," and the baseball history of "jazz."</p><p>Find Ben on his website: <a href="https://benzimmer.com/" target="_blank">Benzimmer.com</a></p><p>Vietnam Graffiti Project at Texas Tech's Vietnam Center: <a href="https://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/graffiti/" target="_blank">https://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/graffiti/</a></p><p>The interface for searching the text on the canvas bunk bottoms: <a href="https://vva.vietnam.ttu.edu/#graffitiSearch" target="_blank">https://vva.vietnam.ttu.edu/#graffitiSearch</a></p><p>Ben's post that includes the Daily Orange article where Helen Herman’s claims she coined "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious." March 10, 1931: <a href="https://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/tracking-down-the-roots-of-a-super-word/" target="_blank">https://www.visualthesauru...