How do lexicographers handle variant spellings

Mignon asks about variants; Ben explains clustering spellings by semantic core and when dictionaries unify entries.

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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."

Find Ben on his website: Benzimmer.com

Vietnam Graffiti Project at Texas Tech's Vietnam Center: https://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/graffiti/

The interface for searching the text on the canvas bunk bottoms: https://vva.vietnam.ttu.edu/#graffitiSearch

Ben's post that includes the Daily Orange article where Helen Herman’s claims she coined "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious." March 10, 1931: https://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/tracking-down-the-roots-of-a-super-word/

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