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The story of an imaginary word that managed to sneak past our editors and enter the dictionary.

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Giuliani: Secret Recordings 'Powerful Exculpatory Evidence'

'tending or serving to exculpate'

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The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 7/20

Words from the week of 7/20/2018

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5 Words for Clumsy People

Just watch your step on the way in.

Latest Posts

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The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 7/20

Words from the week of 7/20/2018

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An Explanation of Why We (Sometimes) Truncate Definitions

Why 'invitation' is "the act of inviting"

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'Kayfabe': It's Illusive and Elusive

A word on faking that only looks fake

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Words We're Watching: 'Laze'

Not just lying around

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5 Words for Clumsy People

Just watch your step on the way in.

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'Flight': A Great Way To Try New Things

A sampler pack full of word history

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Absent Letters That Are Heard Anyway

They aren't seen but they are heard

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Is 'Consensus of Opinion' Redundant?

Is 'consensus of opinion' redundant?

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The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 7/13

Words from the week of 7/13/2018

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Is There a Difference Between ‘Long’ and ‘Lengthy?’

When some things just go on and on.

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Wonderful Words That You're Not Using (Yet)

Words as delightful as they are rare

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There's My Ride: 9 Types of Vehicles

Car talk.

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'Vaccine': The Word's History Ain't Pretty

Don't say we didn't warn you.

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The ‘Zaddy’ of All Words

It's meant as a compliment.

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Is It 'Whet' Or 'Wet' Your Appetite/Whistle?

Homophone confusion ahead.

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9 Words for the Wild and Carefree

From 'daredevil' to 'hellbender'

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The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 7/6

Words from the week of 7/6/2018

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'Brainwashing': A History

It was only sometimes literal.

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Has ‘Supper’ Always Meant ‘Dinner?'

Your grandmother might answer differently.

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'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

A tale of interplanetary funksmanship

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The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

How to pluralize pretty much anything

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8 Words from Around the House

The stories behind everyday things

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'Instinctive' and 'Instinctual': Is There a Difference?

Sometimes it’s best to go with your gut.

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Can 'Majority' and 'Minority' Be Used with Noncount Nouns?

It's not as simple as you may think.

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'Tender' and Its Not-So-Delicate History

A soft word, firmly planted.

page 1 of 51

WORD OF THE DAY

festinate

play

to hasten

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  1. exculpatory 'tending or serving to exculpate'

  2. ideologue 'an often blindly partisan advocate or adherent of a particular ideology'

  3. socialism 'a way of organizing a society in which major industries are owned and controlled by the government'

  4. uphold 'to let stand'

  5. due process 'a course of formal proceedings (as judicial proceedings)'

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