Wordplay

 For the love of language

Is 'kryptonite' a real word?

The answer to this question is usually yes

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

We’ve seen fire, we’ve seen rain, and we have many words for them

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

We just can’t bananaquit them

Popular

Ten Painless Ways to Improve Your Vocabulary

Simple but Intelligent Word Choices

How 'Namaste' Entered The English Language

"I bow to you"

Our Best Historical Slang Terms

'Hella' is in hella good company

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE

10 words expert players use

12 Words Whose History Will Surprise You

They all use this one weird trick (etymology)

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Words With Remarkable Origins, Vol. 2

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

Raise a glass to some full-bodied vocabulary.

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Our maraca shake brings all the hautbois to the yard

Word Choices

Gabrielle Zevin

Novelist

Emily Flake

New Yorker Cartoonist

Celeste Ng

Novelist

Eli Cymet

Video Game Writer/Producer, Cuphead

Emma Straub

Novelist and Children’s Book Author

Arts & Culture

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10 Words Conjuring Hell and the Devil

Going beyond the fire and brimstone

What exactly is a 'liberal'?

No one wants a 'servile arts' degree

15 Cheffy Words for Chefs (and Everyone Else)

Including 'cheffy'

Stay Woke

Tracing the history of 'woke'

7 Words from Political Scandals

Behind the smoke-filled rooms
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Obscure & Fun

Obscure & Fun

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 1

Some may be more useful than others.

Foreign

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10 English Words from Dutch

Learn how to tell your caboodle from your caboose

10 of Our Favourite British Words

Please don't whinge about being knackered, you prat.

'In Vino Veritas' and Other Latin Phrases to Live By

Top 10 Latin Phrases

10 Words from Nahuatl, the Language of the Aztecs

Avocado, chocolate, and more

A Guide to the Names of French Sauces

17 saucy terms (and how to say them)
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Games & Hobbies

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12 Words From Basketball

Plus a few terms that never quite made it

A Player's Guide to 'Q' without 'U' Words

Remember this and win.

These Are Fighting Words

Common terms that come from boxing and wrestling

Know Your Baseball Idioms

Our national pastime. No, the other one.

Are You Ready for Some Football (Words)?

So you can do more than smile and nod when talking about the big game
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Insults

Insults

Rare and Amusing Insults, Volume 2

Sometimes a 'cacafuego' can be a real 'slubberdegullion'

Science & Nature

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Birds Say the Darndest Things

10 Words (or Phrases) Birds Seem to Be Saying

7 Common Idioms That Come from Chickens

Don't ask us which came first

12 Bird Names that Sound Like Compliments

From the godwits at your favorite dictionary

Possum vs. Opossum: Is There a Difference?

On a marsupial with various names

'Blue Moon,' 'Wolf Moon,' and Other Moons to Look for Throughout the Year

More moons than you can shake a stick at
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Word History

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Quick: Read This!

'Quick' once had a very different meaning

What does it mean to 'endorse' a presidential candidate?

It's kind of like "endorsing" a check

Etymologies for Every Day of the Week

The sun, the moon, four gods, and a goddess.

14 Words Inspired by Dogs

A lexicographer's best friend

7 Good Stories That Just Aren't True

No, that's not where that word comes from
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