I am a lexicographer and applied linguist with a varied range of research interests. 

As a former editor with the Macquarie Dictionary I have an abiding interest in Australian English. I am especially interested in Australian slang, having published a number of slang dictionaries and in this capacity I am a Contributing Editor to Green's Dictionary of Slang, the world's greatest historical dictionary of the slang register. 

My secondary career teaching English in a variety of contexts around the world led to me eventually collaborating with Clarence Green on a project entitled Improving Disciplinary Literacy by Developing Vocabulary and Grammatical Profiles. This resulted in the creation of the Secondary Vocabulary Lists (SVL), discipline-specific vocabulary lists for eight secondary school subjects.

My PhD was on the lexicography of Indian English, following which I have published on colonial-era Anglo-Indian slang and the iconic dictionary of colonial India, Hobson-Jobson (1886/1903). I then widened the scope of this work to include the lexicography of all varieties of English worldwide.

When not being a linguist, I am an avid citizen scientist focussing especially on birds, butterflies, moths, dragonflies, and frogs. I regularly contribute to eBird, Xeno-canto, iNaturalist, and the Australian Museum's FrogID project. My recordings of Australian bird vocalisations now extend to over 160 species, and covers many of the local NT subspecies that are currently under-recorded.