How the Lesbians finally muscled in: A review of Treasure House of the Language: the Living OED by Charlotte Brewer. A look at : The word of the year. What's the word? Or phrase, as the case may be: The experts gather tomorrow to decide on the top expression for 2007. You didn’t hear them here first, but chances are that in 2007 you caught these phrases somewhere. When things are bad, it’s natural to look ahead. Perhaps that’s why we hear those phrases so often from politicians, sports figures and others in times of trouble. A book of slang used by teenagers has guaranteed its own inauthenticity just by being published. Language past its use-by date: Good literature draws on neologisms, but not the fleeting wordplay of headlines and pub gags.
