Orin Hargraves

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Orin Knight Hargraves (born September 14, 1953) is an American lexicographer and writer. He has written handy language reference books, such as Mighty Fine Words and Smashing Expressions: Making Sense of Transatlantic English; Slang Rules!: A Practical Guide for English Learners; and Words to Rhyme With: A Rhyming Dictionary (co-authored with Willard Espy). He has also contributed definitions and other material to many dictionaries from major publishers.

Hargraves was born in Denver, Colorado, and grew up in Creede. He graduated with honors from the University of Chicago in 1977, studying philosophy, language, and literature. He served in the U.S. Peace Corps in Morocco, teaching English in a government lycée. He later worked in publishing software in Chicago and London and began his lexicography career in 1991 in London. He joined the Dictionary Society of North America in 1993 and was elected vice president/president-elect in 2009. He lives in Niwot, Colorado.