JUDGES:
Thanks to the following authors, editors, and lexicographers for judging the contests.

Martha Barnette is the author of Ladyfingers & Nun's Tummies: A Lighthearted Look at How Foods Got Their Names and other books on language. She is also a speaker and the co-host of the popular radio show A Way with Words.

Steve Benko is a co-author of the book Limericks in the Time of Trump. His limericks have been published in The New York Times.

Lauren Gawne is a researcher in the Department of Linguistics at La Trobe University in Australia. She is also the co-host of Lingthusiasm, a podcast that's enthusiastic about linguistics.

Joan H. Hall is the Chief Editor of the six-volume Dictionary of American Regional English. She is a Distinguished Scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Steve Kleinedler is the author of Is English Changing, an introductory linguistics textbook and co-host (with Kory Stamper) of the podcast Fiat Lex. He is a lexicographer and former Executive Editor of the American Heritage Dictionary.

Richard Lederer is an author, speaker, and columnist. He has written Crazy English and more than 30 other books on language. He has sold more than a million copies of his books.

Gretchen McCulloch is the author of Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language (upcoming). She is also the co-host of Lingthusiasm, a popular podcast on language.

Erin McKean is the founder of Wordnik.com, an online dictionary, completing its 10 years this year. She's an author of many books and former Editor-in-Chief of US Dictionaries for Oxford University Press.

Jesse Sheidlower is the author of The F-Word and other books on language. He is a lexicographer and former editor of the Oxford English Dictionary. He is a past president of the American Dialect Society and an adjunct assistant professor at Columbia University.

Will Shortz is Puzzlemaster for the National Public Radio, the Crossword Puzzle Editor for The New York Times, and author or editor of more than 500 books. He wrote the riddles for Batman Forever and guest-starred in The Simpsons and How I Met Your Mother. He is the subject of the award-winning documentary Wordplay.

Peter Sokolowski is a lexicographer and editor at Merriam-Webster. He's also the host of Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day podcast.

Kory Stamper is the author of Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries. She is a lexicographer and former editor for Merriam-Webster.

Ben Zimmer is a linguist and lexicographer, and a columnist for The Wall Street Journal. He has served as an editor of American dictionaries at Oxford University Press. He is the recipient of the Linguistic Society of America's first ever Linguistics Journalism Award.