Loss of the sound of "r" after a vowel and before a consonant in the middle of a word is common in spoken English. This linguistic idiosyncrasy has given the language a few new words, including cuss from curse, bust from burst, and passel from parcel.
reporters had a whole passel of questions for the new basketball coach
the young couple helped a passel of students in the span of a few years
Recent Examples on the WebMicrosoft announced a whole passel of Copilot Plus PCs at its Surface event on Monday, and Samsung’s entries are a 14-inch laptop and two 16-inch ones, known collectively as the Galaxy Book4 Edge.—Nathan Edwards, The Verge, 20 May 2024 Molly learns a passel of thinpgs in this surrealist, carnivalesque bildungsroman.—Lorraine Berry, Los Angeles Times, 15 May 2024 Mothers, children, and the disabled clutch passels of documents along the sidewalk.—Abraham Nussbaum and Renee Y. Hsia, STAT, 2 Nov. 2023 In a group interview at the theater, the producers outlined a passel of initiatives to entice audiences of all ages to the musical, a rollicking, 90-minute party under a glittering disco ball.—Peter Marks, Washington Post, 13 Oct. 2023 Thankfully, a passel of gifted mischief-makers — including Michael Urie, James Monroe Iglehart, Nik Walker, Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, Christopher Fitzgerald, Ethan Slater and Jimmy Smagula — are along for the ride as well.—Peter Marks, Washington Post, 5 Sep. 2023 So who among the team's passel of prospects has stood out and is likely to wear a Brewers uniform sometime soon?—Todd Rosiak, Journal Sentinel, 21 Mar. 2023 The Celtics have accumulated a passel of second-round picks.—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 20 July 2023 The picture Springer eventually took of that farm school features a passel of children gathered like a choir of angels, sitting on hay bales between their school lessons, bathed in afternoon light as if in a Renaissance painting.—Casey Cep, The New Yorker, 18 July 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'passel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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