Legendary figures and the words that define them
Celebrated writers share their quest to find the right words
We're gonna stop you right there
What about Day Tomorrow?
And how did it get that name?
Word Icons
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And is one more correct than the others?
216,360 views
No one calls it the Merriam-Webster comma. Why?
455,584 views
There, there. We'll sort it out.
104,572 views
The awkward case of 'his or her'
266,639 views
No other common verb follows the pattern of _sneak_…_snuck_. And no one's quite sure why.
72,242 views
They started as the same word, but their meanings have drifted apart over time.
55,586 views
Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.
365,056 views
'Poets laureate'? 'Court-martials'? The curious history of postpositive adjectives in English.
290,696 views
Why does it sound strange to say 'funner' or 'funnest?'
265,856 views
Why is pig meat called 'pork' and cow meat called 'beef?' Because English took on a big serving of French words following the Norman Conquest.
548,422 views
Our research turned up two archaic literal meanings
157,534 views
How an ancient philosophical movement devoted to the pursuit of virtue came to describe eye-rolling criticism.
41,648 views
The story of those iconic illustrations.
24,679 views
Soop, wimmen, and headake did not make the cut
162,915 views
We'll help you figure it out at once
887,053 views
800,367 views
How to use a word that (literally) drives some people nuts
453,714 views
And who put it there, anyway?
328,561 views
Some imitative words are more surprising than others
325,507 views
We're intent on clearing it up
315,735 views
The Great British Vocabulary Quiz
Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.
Pick the best words!
