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07/23/08 - Another OED Failure

We had another Oxford English Dictionary failure today. Not only does the supposedly most comprehensive dictionary of the English language have words it has no definitions for, but it also lacks definitions for perfecty reasonable words. For example, everyone has heard of ships being "clinker built", meaning that their boards overlap in construction. What is another method of construction? That's obvious; it's "cravel built". Ask any seaman. What does cravel mean? Well, don't ask the OED. It doesn't have a definition, nor does our Funk and Wagnall's. (That's a real dictionary, not just a Rowan and Martin's Laugh In punch line). What's even worse is that the jack craven are a type of game fish, though good luck finding them in any dictionary. You're more likely to find them off the coast of Guatemala. So, what's the word of the day? It's "cravel", and good luck finding out what it means.

Keywords: science, art, kale