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Commonly Confused

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

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


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

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play video title attorney generals
Is It 'Attorney Generals' Or 'Attorneys General'?

 

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

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When Body Parts Are Also Verbs

 

Head, shoulders, metaphors, and toes

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What Is 'Semantic Bleaching'?

 

How 'literally' can mean "figuratively"

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'Mispronunciations' That May Be Fine

 

'Mischievous,' 'nuclear,' and other words to pronounce with caution.

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Lay vs. Lie

 

Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.

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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 Word Gets into the Dictionary

 

What our editors are looking for when they enter words in Merriam-Webster.