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Word History

The History of 'Cynic'

How an ancient philosophical movement devoted to the pursuit of virtue came to describe eye-rolling criticism.


How an ancient philosophical movement devoted to the pursuit of virtue came to describe eye-rolling criticism.

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The History of 'Cynic'

 

How an ancient philosophical movement devoted to the pursuit of virtue came to describe eye-rolling criticism.

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How Do You Pronounce 'Groceries'?

 

Is there one standard way?

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Sneaked vs. Snuck

 

How the irregular 'snuck' sneaked into the dictionary

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Hot Mess

 

Our research turned up two archaic literal meanings

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Pictures in the Dictionary

 

The story of those iconic illustrations.

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Why is there a 'd' in 'fridge' but not in 'refrigerator'?

 

Thawing one of the mysteries of English

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Is It 'Attorney Generals' Or 'Attorneys General'?

 

'Poets laureate'? 'Court-martials'? The curious history of postpositive adjectives in English.