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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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play video cynic
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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'Nip it in the butt' or 'Nip it in the bud'?

 

We're gonna stop you right there

play video literally
Literally

 

A word that (literally) drives people nuts

play semantic bleaching text on white background
What Is 'Semantic Bleaching'?

 

How 'literally' can mean "figuratively"

play peter-sokolowski-indict-graphic
Video: Why is there a 'c' in 'indict'?

 

And who put it there, anyway?

play video healthy vs healthful
Healthy vs. Healthful

 

Why both words are equally good for you.

play serenity carr next to an illustration of a refrigerator with the letter d in it
Why is there a 'd' in 'fridge' but not in 'refrigerator'?

 

Thawing one of the mysteries of English

Games & Quizzes

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Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
girl-playing-trumpet
Sound Check: A Musical Word Quiz Tune-up your vocabulary
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