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mrs malaprop
Words at Play

What is a malaprop?

Editor Peter Sokolowski will tell you all the perpendiculars

A malapropism, or malaprop, is the usually unintentionally humorous misuse or distortion of a word or phrase, especially the use of a word sounding somewhat like the one intended but ludicrously wrong in context—like polo bears instead of polar bears.

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play mrs malaprop
What is a malaprop?

 

We'll tell you all the perpendiculars

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

play video old school grammar humorsome
Old-School Grammar

 

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

play videos pictures in the dictionary
Pictures in the Dictionary

 

The story of those iconic illustrations.

play cartoon-of-british-nobility
Why did Yankee Doodle call a feather 'macaroni'?

 

What's with his feathered cap?

play alt-5db61f2bd1cc5
How Do You Pronounce 'Groceries'?

 

Is there one standard way?

play ismo merriam webster trunk boot
Some Odd Words with ISMO: "Junk in the Trunk"

 

Comedian ISMO on what separates a boot from a trunk

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.
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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
child-with-a-telescope
Spot the Misspelled Word Quiz March 2026 Guage your ability to identify out-of-place letters.
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