The Word Detective

August 8, 2016
Language lives and breathes, and nowhere is it examined so microscopically as at the offices of the Oxford English Dictionary. Former editor-in-chief Simpson peered through that microscope for more than 30 years, beginning in 1976, during the OED’s most dynamic period of growth. This is just the sort of memoir you’d imagine from the hands of someone who’s spent his life chasing down the peculiar history of words and writing clear and careful definitions of them and their origins: precise and thorough. A meticulous storyteller, Simpson chronicles his years at the OED from his very first assignment—reading a translation of Christian Metz’s Film Language searching for words used for the first time in English (he discovers prefilmic and screening room)—to his appointment as coeditor of the OED and his promotion to chief editor. Simpson gracefully weaves into his memoir little definitions of words, providing examples of the work of a lexicographer. For instance, the phrase hue and cry, he observes, likely arose from the French hu e cri, which was the “outcry from the aggrieved party calling for the pursuit of a felon,” though by the 17th century in English the word hue had faded from use and become a “fossil.” At the turn of the 21st century, Simpson oversees the publication of the online edition of the OED in order to make it easier to use and to “open up access to a wider readership.” Simpson’s vibrant and inspiring memoir gives us a glimpse into life as detective in the realm of words. Agent: David Kuhn & Becky Sweren, Kuhn Projects.

A witty memoir from a dictionary editor who insists he is not a "word lover."Simpson, former chief editor of the venerable Oxford English Dictionary, makes his literary debut with a delightful chronicle of his 40-year career among fellow lexicographers as the dictionary went through the long, painstaking processes of updating, revising, and digitizing its gargantuan number of entries. Unassuming, sly, and often very funny, the author paints an affectionate portrait of the rarefied culture of the OED when he joined the staff in 1976: an effort by the chief editor to incorporate the vocabulary of America's police and CB truckers, for example, elicited "some eyebrows raised in the dictionary office (Oxford's own code for utter disbelief, and right up there with the imperceptibly flaring nostrils)." Every afternoon, editors met for "dictionary tea-time," a holdover from "the sedate environment" of the 19th century. Simpson's talents--which he reveals with disarming modesty--as a word sleuth and project manager led to promotions along the way. He became chief editor during the OED's adventuresome transition to the internet, a huge step for the staff and the dictionary's overseer and funder, the University of Oxford Press. The author deftly characterizes the politics and personalities--including three administrators nicknamed the Admiral, the Shark, and the Colonel--who sometimes clashed, gently and decorously, during his career. In addition to chronicling the revision processes, Simpson offers lively histories for words that are quirky (inkling, juggernaut), trendy (selfie), seemingly self-evident (inferno, blueprint), and oddly problematic (same, bird-watching). Each history, Simpson says, reflects "a patterning in the language over the centuries that mirrors and comments on the emergence of peoples and nations in different eras." The author reveals personal details, as well, especially the "sadness and helplessness" that he and his wife felt when they realized that their second daughter was afflicted with a profound developmental disability, unable to communicate with words. "Compared to this," he writes, "the dictionary work was easy." A captivating celebration of a life among words. COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from September 1, 2016

Historically, words can mean many different things, but it takes careful research to document how that meaning has changed. Simpson, former chief editor of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), draws on his 37-year career to illustrate the OED's evolution and continued relevance as a source for understanding the English language. Beginning with his job interview, Simpson relates his experience, bringing readers into the basement archives of the OED, with its daily tea rituals, through the years that saw the move to computerization. The author shares his knowledge of lexicography and illustrates its complexity by interspersing words in bold throughout that are explored in asides. His discussion of the word "marriage" shows how social change affects its definition over time. Boldly, Simpson claims that people who love words are "the last people we need working on dictionaries" and admits to only a "modicum of enthusiasm" for the material. Stories about the author's family add an appealing personal framework. VERDICT This witty exploration of culture and language will be welcomed by users of the OED and anyone interested in the study of language. [See "Editors' Fall Picks," p. 26.]--Judy Solberg, Sacramento, CA

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 15, 2016
The Oxford English Dictionary is one of our most revered reference works, consulted by readers for precise definitions and accurate entomology. It hardly seems it could be produced by mere mortals. But it is, and former chief editor Simpson makes that point in recounting his 37 years with the OED, a time when the Victorian-era dictionary transformed into a modern online publication. Starting in 1976 as a reader searching through texts for words, he learned every step of producing the dictionary. The process even involved work by many volunteers collecting illustrative sentences to be woven together by scholars into word histories. As an editor, he recruited people from many professions in the OED's word search. Simpson's memoir features entertaining, culturally revealing stories of many curious words, phrases, and roots, including epicentre, marriage, queen, crowd-sourcing, hue-and-cry, and -ology. He also tells about his marriage and the challenges of raising a nonverbal daughter. Although scholars and librarians will be particularly interested in the OED history, all readers can enjoy Simpson's sincere and lively memoir.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)