Wordplay: For the Love of Language | Merriam-Webster

Popular

16 Glee-ridden Words from Schitt's Creek

Don’t watch without reading this, you little frippets!

Did Orange the Fruit or the Color Come First?

The answer to a color coded language riddle

Why Is the Letter ‘Z’ Associated With Sleeping?

A cartoon origin story

The Words of the Week - Feb. 13

Lookups from the Winter Olympics, the Super Bowl, and the Epstein files

Why do we call it 'ides of March'?

And should we beware?

Why do we call it a 'flea market'?

Do they really sell fleas?

The Opposite of Déjà Vu

When the familiar becomes unrecognizable

17 Words for Dog Breeds

If you love dogs and words, you’re barking up the right tree

Word Choices

Gabrielle Zevin

Emily Flake

New Yorker Cartoonist

Celeste Ng

Eli Cymet

Video Game Writer/Producer, Cuphead

Emma Straub

Novelist and Children’s Book Author

Arts & Culture

12 Words and Phrases for Romantic Relationships

This list warms the cockles of our hearts

Where does the expression 'throw someone under the bus' come from?

Let's blame the British

'Gaslighting,' 'Woke,' 'Democracy,' and Other Top Lookups

We know you're going to look these up

Where does the phrase 'barn burner' come from?

This one's pretty exciting

Top Banana, Kingpin, and Other Nicknames for Important People

Big wigs, big enchiladas, and big shots

Foreign

17 English Words That Come From Japanese

Some borrowed words don't get returned

Alcohol & Algebra: Common Words from Arabic

Number 4 might scare you

Schadenfreude and Other German Words Without Translation

Accept no substitutes

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.

Games & Hobbies

10 Words for Lesser-Known Games and Sports

Are you ready for some stoolball?

Winning Scrabble Words for Everyday People

You don't have to be a pro to play these words.

12 Words From Basketball

Plus a few terms that never quite made it

Popular Gaming Terms Explained

Nerfs, MMORPGs, and who the final boss really is

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

Remember this and win.

Science & Nature

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

A bouquet of floral origin stories

12 Bird Names that Sound Like Compliments

From the godwits at your favorite dictionary

12 Words for Signs of Spring

Spring is springing

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

More moons than you can shake a stick at

9 Superb Owl Words

Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all? We do!

Word History

Quick: Read This!

'Quick' once had a very different meaning

The Origin of O'clock

The apostrophe that ate a whole word

The Origins of Daredevil

Hint: they've been around for a while

The Hairy History of 'Sideburns'

Lousy general. Amazing hair.

Eavesdrop, Fiasco, and 8 More Words with Surprising Origins

Including some trivia on ‘trivia’