A dictionary of the English language (1755)

Do It Yourself: Democracy and Design

“…4 Greenhalgh goes on to comment on the profusion of interpretations of ' design ' , ' art ' and ' craft ' , and in particular of the term ' craftsman ' , described by Johnson in 1773 as ' an artifi cer, manufacturer, a mechanick ' . 5 The distinctions between various aspects of DIY are similarly unclear. Where are the boundaries to be drawn between different levels of activity ranging from handicrafts to home maintenance, interior decorating, interior design, garden design, vehicle maintenance and customization, home improvement and self-build homes?…”

Going on an antedate

“…So the intellectual-abouttown, Samuel Johnson, convinced investors that an English dictionary based on improved principles would be commercially successful. [1][2][3] Existing dictionaries were based on ''a genealogy of sentiments,'' as author had copied author over time. Instead, Johnson argued for an approach that reflected ''intellectual history,'' a term he appears to have coined (Fig.…”

Rewriting Chaucer’s Wife of Bath’s Tale from Dryden, through Voltaire, to Niemcewicz: Medievalism or Modernisation?

“…36 Samuel Johnson used this passage as an illustration of the use of the word "pastern" to refer to "The legs of an human creature in contempt" 37 . and we can see that Dryden chooses the word to point to animal-like sexual attractiveness of the maid, and, disturbingly for the 21 st century reader, the horse-like "Pace" of the girl which first attracted the Knight's attention rhymes with "Face", the look at which seems to lead directly to the rape.…”