Let’s Go Out Tonight: Getting Wordy — August 11, 2008
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
READINGS
EXTRA-LONG READ The Oxford English Dictionary wasn’t the first dictionary that author Ammon Shea read cover to cover, but it’s certainly the most impressive: The OED is composed of a hefty 21,730 pages in 20 volumes, and includes detailed etymologies for more than 300,000 entries. Mr. Shea paced himself during his marathon reading session. Over the course of a year, the author worked through the behemoth lexicon at the rate of eight to 10 hours a day, five days a week. Tonight, Mr. Shea discusses his lost year and his resulting book, “Reading the OED” (Perigee Books), with an editor at large of the Oxford English Dictionary, Jesse Sheidlower, at the recently renamed McNally Jackson Booksellers in NoLIta. Expect that these two avowed logophiles will dig deep into the OED to discuss some of its most spectacular entries (petrichor, n., “the pleasant loamy smell of rain on the ground especially after a long dry spell”), those less than spectacular (fleesen, adj., “having the color of skim milk”), and everything between. One thing’s certain: There will be no onomatomania (v., “vexation with being unable to find the right word”) at McNally’s tonight.
If after the discussion, you feel inclined to nosh, check out Kitchen Club (30 Prince St., between Mott and Elizabeth streets, 212-274-0025), and Chibi’s Bar, an adjacent sake bar. Chef and owner Marja Samsom’s dumplings — which include duck and ginger, mushroom, tofu and chrysanthemum, and shrimp and spinach — are a staple of both menus, and for good reason. Pairing a sampling of the dumplings with one of the many sakes by the glass at Chibi’s Bar, or with such eclectic entrées as sautéed monkfish with a julienne of ginger and asparagus spears ($25) and roast quail with arugula and foie gras ($25) next door, makes for a perfect bouffage (n., “an enjoyable or satisfying meal”). It’s good — and you might have a chance to pet the namesake of Chibi’s Bar, an affable English bulldog.
Reading, 7 p.m., McNally Jackson Booksellers, 52 Prince St., between Lafayette and Mulberry streets, 212-274-1160, free.
To submit an event for consideration for the Calendar, please wire the particulars to calendar@nysun.com, placing the date of the event in the subject line.
