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The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction

Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction is a delightful book, even if they do misspell my name...

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #1 from Lucy Huntzinger

Wed, 02 May 2007 13:07:55 -0500

How splendid! I must have one of those.

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Posted May 2, 2007 1:07 PM by Lucy Huntzinger

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #2 from Fragano Ledgister

Wed, 02 May 2007 13:32:18 -0500

Oh wow! Unfortunately, it has come out just as I have to cut back on book purchases!

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Posted May 2, 2007 1:32 PM by Fragano Ledgister

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #3 from Claude Muncey

Wed, 02 May 2007 14:01:22 -0500

One of the best reasons for comfortable chairs in bookstores yet.

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Posted May 2, 2007 2:01 PM by Claude Muncey

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #4 from Will A

Wed, 02 May 2007 14:09:51 -0500

Mmmm, pretty.

I like that the list of facts and numbers on Amazon includes the book's weight. It's only there for practical shipping purposes, but it helps me imagine the heft of the thing in my hands as I settle into a bookstore's comfy chair.

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Posted May 2, 2007 2:09 PM by Will A

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #5 from MacAllister

Wed, 02 May 2007 14:14:16 -0500

Heh! Off to order it now! Many thanks.

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Posted May 2, 2007 2:14 PM by MacAllister

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #6 from Kathryn from Sunnyvale

Wed, 02 May 2007 14:35:18 -0500

just as I have to cut back on book purchases

cut back on book purchases, or cut back on book purchases? Because I just found I'm the lucky first one to put a hold on this book at my local library. Sqweeee.

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Posted May 2, 2007 2:35 PM by Kathryn from Sunnyvale

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #7 from Andrew Brown

Wed, 02 May 2007 16:09:28 -0500

What is "the transcend", please?

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Posted May 2, 2007 4:09 PM by Andrew Brown

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #8 from Mary Dell

Wed, 02 May 2007 16:27:04 -0500

*eeeeeeeeee!!*

[rushes off to purchase]

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Posted May 2, 2007 4:27 PM by Mary Dell

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #9 from JDC

Wed, 02 May 2007 17:17:20 -0500

#7 See Vinge's "A Fire Upon the Deep"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_upon_the_deep#The_zones_of_thoughthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_upon_the_deep#The_zones_of_thought

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Posted May 2, 2007 5:17 PM by JDC

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #10 from JDC

Wed, 02 May 2007 17:18:03 -0500

#7 See Vinge's "A Fire Upon the Deep"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_upon_the_deep#The_zones_of_thought

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Posted May 2, 2007 5:18 PM by JDC

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #11 from Fragano Ledgister

Wed, 02 May 2007 18:01:20 -0500

Kathryn from Sunnyvale #6: The latter, not the former. Perhaps I'll get a chance to peruse it at the library; or I'll just wait a while and buy it secondhand.

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Posted May 2, 2007 6:01 PM by Fragano Ledgister

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #12 from Calton Bolick

Wed, 02 May 2007 23:30:09 -0500

Huh. Does it include "disemvowel"? And come to think, how DO they spell your name?

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Posted May 2, 2007 11:30 PM by Calton Bolick

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #13 from Bus Ridin' Traveler (BRT)

Thu, 03 May 2007 00:26:16 -0500

Posted May 3, 2007 12:26 AM by Bus Ridin' Traveler (BRT)

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #14 from Paul

Thu, 03 May 2007 05:42:24 -0500

re: Budin #13

Looking at my copy (which I picked up at Dreamhaven last weekend), none of those made it.

Its a lot of fun to flip through. I do find it amusing though that the book relies on, whenever possible, print references for words, even when there is a more common and likely attribution.

For instance, droid's first attribution is to "G Lucas. Adventures of Luke Starkiller, 1976" rather than to the Star Wars movie itself.

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Posted May 3, 2007 5:42 AM by Paul

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #15 from Alan Braggins

Thu, 03 May 2007 06:54:32 -0500

#14 - droid - isn't that just because the word's use in the early draft of the screenplay came before the movie made from it, even if it was the movie that popularised it?

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Posted May 3, 2007 6:54 AM by Alan Braggins

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #16 from abi

Thu, 03 May 2007 07:04:07 -0500

...But is it signature sewn?

(Not that I have time...I'm not even getting the LOTR binding done that I wanted to.)

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Posted May 3, 2007 7:04 AM by abi

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #17 from Gag Halfrunt

Thu, 03 May 2007 07:12:36 -0500

The Oxford English Dictionary's policy is to cite the earliest known use. I imagine that the same applies to Brave New Words.

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Posted May 3, 2007 7:12 AM by Gag Halfrunt

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #18 from Serge

Thu, 03 May 2007 07:59:15 -0500

abi @ 16... Not that I have time...I'm not even getting the LOTR binding done that I wanted to.

When are you moving to Amsterdam?

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Posted May 3, 2007 7:59 AM by Serge

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #19 from Jules

Thu, 03 May 2007 10:54:29 -0500

Calton: Funny, that was my first thought, too...

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Posted May 3, 2007 10:54 AM by Jules

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #20 from P J Evans

Thu, 03 May 2007 11:07:03 -0500

I thought their policy was the earliest use in print. (I was looking up a [four-letter] word in the OED the other day: its earliest use (as a verb) is given as 1503. It's safe to say it's been around rather longer than that.)

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Posted May 3, 2007 11:07 AM by P J Evans

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #21 from Gag Halfrunt

Thu, 03 May 2007 11:57:39 -0500

PJ Evans@20: Yes, earliest use in print.

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Posted May 3, 2007 11:57 AM by Gag Halfrunt

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #22 from Nicholas Waller

Thu, 03 May 2007 12:06:24 -0500

I believe the OED accepts earliest use in various media, even, if I remember correctly the relevant BBC "Balderdash and Piffle" programme about hunting down first uses of words for the OED, a schoolgirl's handwritten autograph book. [googles]. Yes, see the first citation for "phwoar" at http://www.oed.com/bbcwords/phwoar.html where the girl writes, in 1976, in praise of a teacher: "We love Mr Blackburn's legs. phwor! cor! wow!!! phew!"

And a 1972 Monty Python gramophone record is the first citation for the phrase "something for the weekend?" (meaning, "do you want some condoms?").
http://www.oed.com/bbcwords/weekend.html

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Posted May 3, 2007 12:06 PM by Nicholas Waller

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #23 from P J Evans

Thu, 03 May 2007 12:41:56 -0500

I don't know where to put this one:

Schirra has died. ('Hello from the beautiful Apollo Room, high atop everything!')

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Posted May 3, 2007 12:41 PM by P J Evans

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #24 from joann

Thu, 03 May 2007 12:46:22 -0500

If the earliest known print cite is what is supposed to happen, then they sure goofed with citing Mike Ford for atomics (see Teresa's original post) unless his career goes back before the first _Dune_, which had several mentions of "family atomics". And that off the top of my head--I'm sure there's all sorts of Late Golden Age stuff that uses it.

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Posted May 3, 2007 12:46 PM by joann

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #25 from Nicholas Waller

Thu, 03 May 2007 13:01:52 -0500

Teresa's post didn't mention first citation, though. Have a look at http://www.jessesword.com/sf/view/336 , which is on atomics: "Charlie Petit submitted a cite from a reprint of Lester del Rey's "Nerves"; Mike Christie verified this in the 1942 original magazine appearance. The OED has a 1919 example in a scientific journal."

Jesse's Word "is run by Jesse Sheidlower, Editor-at-Large of the Oxford English Dictionary. Feel free to look for my name on the OED Staff Page if you have any question about the validity of this site. The main public area of this site is the Science Fiction Citation project at http://www.jessesword.com/sf, which everyone is welcome to explore."

There's a whole list of words there.

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Posted May 3, 2007 1:01 PM by Nicholas Waller

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #26 from sdn

Thu, 03 May 2007 13:12:41 -0500

what i love best about this book is that its acquiring editor was my friend erin, and its author is a friend of one of my authors.

and yeah, i bought one.

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Posted May 3, 2007 1:12 PM by sdn

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #27 from sdn

Thu, 03 May 2007 13:14:17 -0500

what i love best about this book is that its acquiring editor was my friend erin, and its author is a friend of one of my authors.

and yeah, i bought one.

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Posted May 3, 2007 1:14 PM by sdn

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #28 from Lisa Hertel

Thu, 03 May 2007 14:59:16 -0500

I'm sorry your name got misspelled; NESFA had two advisors to the volume, and they really ought to have known better. (BTW, OUP approached NESFA; they wanted NESFA's help/blessing.)

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Posted May 3, 2007 2:59 PM by Lisa Hertel

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #29 from Mary Dell

Fri, 04 May 2007 13:55:41 -0500

Just got my copy, and have learned that H. Beam Piper coined "sapience." When I read the Little Fuzzy books, a million years ago, the meaning seemed intuitive so I assumed it was an existing word.

Neato.

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Posted May 4, 2007 1:55 PM by Mary Dell

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #30 from Heresiarch

Sat, 05 May 2007 01:13:06 -0500

I must know--does it include "spung"?

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Posted May 5, 2007 1:13 AM by Heresiarch

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #31 from cgeye

Sat, 05 May 2007 04:20:15 -0500

Misspelling your -- how shameful.

{intercom}
Jesse Sheidlower to the spanking booth, please.
Jesse Sheidlower to the spanking booth, Aisle 1, please.
... and, keep the bowtie on.
{/intercom}

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Posted May 5, 2007 4:20 AM by cgeye

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #32 from Teresa Nielsen Hayden

Mon, 07 May 2007 06:29:58 -0500

Can't possibly spank everyone who misspells my name. It's just too easy to do.

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Posted May 7, 2007 6:29 AM by Teresa Nielsen Hayden

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #33 from Faren Miller

Mon, 07 May 2007 11:52:10 -0500

Ah, the spelling of names! Whenever I need to go by my married name (Faren Hanscom) -- usually when dealing with doctors and prescriptions covered by my husband's insurance -- I have to spell out *both* names. Is it any wonder I stick with Miller most of the time? I don't insert it in the middle, though, finding triple deckers a bit tough to handle.

PS to Teresa: It seems like this encyclopedia is an exception to the reference books that bother you so much in your "rant" in the Wikipedia thread. Good to know it's not complete anarchy and incompetence out there.

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Posted May 7, 2007 11:52 AM by Faren Miller

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #34 from Jan Vaněk jr.

Fri, 25 May 2007 09:23:34 -0500

I like how the Amazon's "Editorial Reviews" (currently) have the same quote twice as by "John Scalzi, author of The Android's Dream" and "John Scalzi, author of Old Man's War".

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Posted May 25, 2007 9:23 AM by Jan Vaněk jr.

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #35 from iesha

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 08:29:10 -0500

what the is the meaning off scenice fiction in words

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Posted January 13, 2008 8:29 AM by iesha

The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction -- comment #36 from Cyborgelf

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:04:41 -0500

This really looks great. I've seen it mentioned in other places, and I'm definitely going to have to get a copy.

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Posted April 27, 2009 4:04 PM by Cyborgelf