Released on 10 May 2007

OED editors welcome new evidence from the public

Following the huge success of the original series of Balderdash & Piffle, the Oxford English Dictionary (www.oed.com) has once again partnered with the BBC to make a new eight-part series of the popular show, which starts at 10pm, Friday 11 May 2007, on BBC Two.

Balderdash & Piffle reveals the hidden histories behind words, and is recruiting the nation to use its sleuthing skills to try to solve these and many more intriguing mysteries in the English language, in collaboration with the OED:

• Who was Gordon Bennett?
• Why do we go bananas?
• Who was the inspiration behind the Bloody Mary cocktail?
• Can the intriguing mystery of wazzock be resolved?
• And when did we first have kinky sex?!

Visit www.bbc.co.uk/balderdash for details of the new series, and the words we want to know more about .

"Although the Oxford English Dictionary has appealed for help from the public many times over the past 150 years I wasn't sure how much new material would come from the broadcast appeal for the first series of Balderdash & Piffle," comments John Simpson, Chief Editor of the OED. "But I needn't have worried: two-thirds of the 50 Wordhunt words were predated or otherwise improved as a result of the appeal, and the relevant OED entries have been updated accordingly. I can't at this point reveal the successes of the new appeal - you'll have to watch the second series of Balderdash for that. But the new information we have received, and the opportunity the series gave us to explain some of the finer points of the dictionary's workings onscreen, have yet again improved the dictionary's coverage of English and do, I hope, demonstrate some of the excitement of compiling the English language's dictionary of record."

For 48 hours after each programme, you can look up any word in the OED for free. Ongoing free access to the OED Online is available to library users in most public libraries in England and Northern Ireland - thanks in part to a landmark agreement between OUP and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. Many libraries also offer 'remote access', which means that you can access the whole of the OED Online from home or the office, simply using your library card number. All subscribing public library authorities are listed here.

The OED is the world's leading authority on the history and development of the English language. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over 600,000 words, both present and past. It traces the usage of words through 2.5 million quotations from a wide range of international English language sources, from classic literature and specialist periodicals to film scripts and cookery books.

It is an extraordinary living document and is constantly being revised. It has always been enriched by material contributed by readers and the public. Working with the BBC, in May 2005 OED editors put out a special call for new evidence about 50 words that were puzzling or intriguing. The response from the public was overwhelming and many entries were updated as a result. In January 2007 the OED once again invited the nation to hunt for words and help rewrite 'the greatest book in the English language' - and the findings are explored in the new series.

For more information please contact Juliet Evans, Oxford University Press, 01865 353911 or email juliet.evans@oup.com. Balderdash & Piffle is a Takeaway Media production. For more information on the series contact Kim Lomax on 020 7424 8591 / 07813 564 686 or kim@takeawaymedia.co.uk

Notes to Editors

Oxford University Press (OUP) is the world's largest and most international of university presses. Founded in 1478, it currently publishes more than 4,500 new books a year, has a presence in over fifty countries, and employs some 3,700 people worldwide. It has become familiar to millions through a diverse publishing programme that includes scholarly works in all academic disciplines, bibles, music, school and college textbooks, children's books, materials for teaching English as a foreign language, business books, dictionaries and reference books, and journals.

• The second series of Balderdash & Piffle will launch on Friday 11th May at 10-10.30pm on BBC 2. Details of each programme are attached. For further information go to www.bbc.co.uk/balderdash
• Free public access to the OED Online is available for 48 hours after each transmission. Readers can look up any word across the entire OED Online.
• Ongoing free access to the OED Online is available to library users in most public libraries in England and Northern Ireland - thanks in part to a landmark agreement between OUP and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. Many libraries also offer 'remote access', which means that you can access the whole of the OED Online from home or the office, simply using your library card number. All subscribing public library authorities are listed here.
• Oxford University Press (OUP) is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship and education in its worldwide publishing. The preparation of dictionaries, of all types and for all ages, has been a central part of its activities for more than 100 years.
• Oxford University Press is carrying out the first complete revision of the entire Oxford English Dictionary as a service to scholarship. Every definition and etymology is being painstakingly revised, and hundreds of new entries are written each year. Batches of new and revised entries are published online every three months. For more information visit http://www.oed.com/about/revision.html
• The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council works with the nine regional agencies in the MLA Partnership to improve people's lives by building knowledge, supporting learning, inspiring creativity and celebrating identity. The Partnership acts collectively for the benefit of the sector and the public, leading the transformation of museums, libraries and archives for the future. Visit: www.mla.gov.uk.