Joshua Blackburn

Epic Fury and the branding of war The story of how military operations are named, and why it matters

I've written a Substack about the naming of military operations, and why Epic Fury is Something New.
shorturl.at/LHCIY

If you get @thetimes.com, and are into your crosswords, I have exciting news... The Times Puzzles section has selected League of the Lexicon as their new crossword prize on Saturdays & Sundays. If crosswords are your jam, I guarantee you'll like League of the Lexicon.
Bon chance!

The New York Review of Books just gave League of the Lexicon, the game I invented and dedicated the last four years of my life to, a most glorious mention:

"…this original quiz game is hilarious and erudite, wildly entertaining and learned, zany and academic... ”

The New York Review of Books! 🤗

A fun column and quiz in today’s Observer, for those who don’t have access to it. This week: On Flatulence.

Answers to the quiz here: tinyurl.com/2ajeu3s8

For anyone who missed my quiz and column in yesterday's Observer, here it is... Inspired by more scandalous headlines about the Epstein papers.
Answers here: tinyurl.com/5xape4es

My quiz and column from today’s Observer… I hope you enjoy!

Quiz answers here: tinyurl.com/4byc2rbt

Dear American Printers, Publishers and Designers,

Enough with the inches. Throw off the Imperial yoke and go metric already.

Yours sincerely

The Rest of the World

cc.
Liberia and Myanmar

A very nice review of The Language-Lover's Lexipedia from @newtownbooks.bsky.social. It's really lovely when a reviewer really 'gets' what you were trying to do. <glows with pride>

Oh, what a super lovely review! Positively made my day. I'm so happy you enjoyed it.

Many years ago, I saw a sticker at the Warwick Avenue Underground Station ticketbooth saying: “CAUTION: Strong winds may blow money away.” I found it very moving.

This Nintendo ‘quit screen’ message is similarly beautiful.

I’ve been researching units of time and have been delighted by my discovery of the microfortnight (~1.21 seconds), nanocentury (~31.56 seconds) and gigasecond (~31.7 years).
My treat was the Clock of the Long Now, that will tick once a year and is designed to keep time for the next ten millennia.

For years, the only crime I could think of named after a criminal was 'ponzi'. But now I’ve got another: Burke (v) - 'To murder, in the same manner or for the same purpose as Burke did; to kill secretly by suffocation or strangulation, or for the purpose of selling the victim's body for dissection.'

Since not everyone has a chance to see my weekly column and quiz for The Observer, I’ve decided to start sharing it here…

(Quiz answers here: tinyurl.com/46vtr8y8)

'UNSUBSCRIBE' Thoughts on my most hated word

As the end of the month looms and a flood of 'Monthly Emails' arrive in your inbox, I've written something about my most hated word: Unsubscribe.
You can read it here - shorturl.at/B7PR6

After my book came out last year, I made a note that it would be great to have a language quiz or column in a national newspaper. So it's lovely to have *both* in The Observer. They've been online for a while, but now appear in print too. This week, a quiz about beginnings and a column about diets.

The new Lexipedia quiz for
@theobserveruk.bsky.social
... This week's word quiz: On drinking.
Try your hand here:
shorturl.at/JRpGI
Also, my language column, on the origin of the word cocktail. Read here:
shorturl.at/T79Ux
I hope you enjoy!

The new Lexipedia quiz for
@theobserveruk.bsky.social
... This week's word quiz: On cats and dogs.
Try your hand here:
shorturl.at/yYwbK
Also, my language column, on the subject of ice tennis and other obsolete sports. Read here:
shorturl.at/uKbIT
I hope you enjoy!

And here's the Lexicon game and Lexipedia book together in perfect harmony at @waterstones.bsky.social Piccadilly. It's amazing to see two things you've worked so hard on side-by-side in the UK's largest bookstore. And they look amazing. @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social

Lovely to be in @hatchards.bsky.social on Piccadilly yesterday and to have an opportunity to sign copies of The Language-Lover's Lexipedia. I know I shouldn't have favourites, but Hatchards is surely one of the most beautiful bookshops in the world. @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social

The new Lexipedia quiz for The Observer... This week: wordy questions with wintery theme.
Try your hand here: shorturl.at/EVZiN
Also, my language column, on the origins of Black Friday. Read here: shorturl.at/k0TN9 hope you enjoy!

Well, it made me laugh!

The new Lexipedia quiz for @theobserveruk.bsky.social... This week: wordy questions on the subject of Trump.
Try your hand here:
shorturl.at/jMYXj
Also, my language column, on the subject of Unparliamentary Language. Read here:
shorturl.at/dVhg3
I hope you enjoy!

As Black Friday looms, I’ve done a deep dive into the origin of this curious name for my latest Substack. Have a look-see.
shorturl.at/Uhxvf

Lots of fun with the Butter No Parsnips team. Can we do this every year?

A 'five emerald' review for League of the Lexicon from Game Industry News...
Thank you @gameindustrynews.bsky.social

Read it here:
shorturl.at/Zyw9v

The latest Lexipedia Quiz is live on The Observer... This week, a quiz about memes. See how you do.
shorturl.at/wmwC9

Have a gander at the new post on The Lexipedian Substack… encompassing the origin of keyboards, costly printing mistakes and the mystery of Lorem Ipsum.
l1nq.com/csL5C

This week's Lexipedia Quiz is waiting for you at The Observer. Good luck!
shorturl.at/XL8ZM

Breaking news! I'm writing a regular quiz, and language column, for The Observer.
Dull technical issues mean you can only read it by subscribing to their Puzzles newsletter, but it will soon be on the website.
This Sunday: the language of bonfire night and a word about scams.
www.observer.co.uk

(I assume you've seen the special edition packs? Global, Slang and Junior? These have also been redesigned and have a stack of new questions.)