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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 a Ghost Word Appeared in the Dictionary

 

An imaginary word that snuck into the dictionary

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'All over sudden' vs. 'All of a sudden'

 

Figuring it out at once

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'Everyday' vs. 'Every Day'

 

A simple trick to keep them separate

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Old-School Grammar

 

Many of today's grammar rules can be traced to the opinions of one 18th century writer.

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

 

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

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Affect vs. Effect

 

Here's the lowdown on what may be the most confusing pair of words in the English language.

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
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People of Interest Quiz Can you tell the "sommeliers" from the "spelunkers"?
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