Oxford-English-Dictionary Archives

I remember my first time. I was a late bloomer — it didn’t happen until my freshman year of high school. Odd, now that I think back on the whole thing. After all, I was a kid who spent more time in the library than on the playground (a pattern that continued into my adult life). Still I didn’t discover the Oxford English Dictionary until a sunny fall morning during a class trip to the library.

Standing there, staring at the twenty-odd volumes of words, I made a solemn vow to myself: someday I will own this. It will be mine.