225. Hues

In this episode of The Allusionist, host Helen Zaltzman explores the complex and often absurd quest to define colors in dictionaries, featuring lexicographer Cori Stamper, author of 'True Color: The Strange and Spectacular Quest to Define Color from Azure to Zinc.' The episode delves into the historical failures of dictionaries to consistently define color terms, from Samuel Johnson’s vague 1755 definition to the wildly inconsistent and often nonsensical entries in Webster’s Third New International Dictionary. Stamper recounts her discovery of bizarre definitions—like 'begonia' being described as 'a deep pink that is bluer, lighter and stronger than average coral'—and traces the roots of this linguistic chaos to 20th-century scientific and industrial demands, particularly post-World War I government investment in color research. The episode examines how color naming became entangled with capitalism, marketing, and government standardization, leading to contradictions like Pompadour being officially classified as green despite universal cultural association with pink. It also critiques the flawed Berlin and Kay theory that equated lack of color words with inability to see color, exposing the cultural bias and linguistic arrogance behind such claims. Ultimately, the episode reveals that color definition is not a scientific fix but a deeply human, emotional, and subjective endeavor—where language shapes perception, but never fully captures it.