The Olive Reader

Laurence Urdang, language expert who edited dictionaries, dies at 81
“Mr. Urdang — he had a middle name, his daughter Nicole said, ‘but he would not rest peacefully if it appeared in print’ . . . [his] view of language was that of an enjoyer, someone who delighted in its flexibility and invention, rather than that of a guardian always on alert against violations of precedent.”