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Laurence Urdang is a professional lexicographer. Lexicographer Laurence Urdang was born in Manhattan on March 21, 1927. He served in the United States Naval Reserve during World War II. He graduated from Columbia University and did graduate work there in linguistics, but never completed his graduate degree. He was a lecturer in linguistics at New show more York University from 1956 to 1961. He helped create more than 100 dictionaries and reference books including -Ologies and -Isms; The New York Times Everyday Reader's Dictionary of Misunderstood, Misused, and Mispronounced Words; and a dictionary on synonyms and antonyms. In 1969, he started Laurence Urdang Associates, Ltd., which published about 150 books on words and language. In 1974, he found Verbatim, a quarterly newsletter on language. He died from congestive heart failure on August 21. 2008. (Bowker Author Biography) show less