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Words Matter

Pictures in the Dictionary

The story of those iconic illustrations.


The story of those iconic illustrations.

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play videos pictures in the dictionary
Pictures in the Dictionary

 

The story of those iconic illustrations.

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

play onomatopoeia video
A Look at Uncommon Onomatopoeia

 

Some imitative words are more surprising than others

play sneaked vs snuck video
Sneaked vs. Snuck

 

How the irregular 'snuck' sneaked into the dictionary

play hot mess
Hot Mess

 

Our research turned up two archaic literal meanings

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 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