Linked List: August 8, 2009

How ‘Fail’ Went From Verb to Interjection 

“Fail” makes the On Language column in the Sunday NYT Magazine (with Ben Zimmer filling in for the vacationing William Safire.)

How Will We Know? 

Steven Frank:

The problem with my self-imposed iPhone boycott is I’m not sure how I know when it ends.

He proposes some good benchmarks.