Wordplay

 For the love of language

Top 12 Sophisticated Compliments

'Urbane,' 'incisive,' and other good things to be

Better Ways to Say 'This Sucks'

Your day is the worst. Your vocabulary is the best.

8 Words with Fascinating Histories

Heads up: one is 'vulgar'

Popular

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

A bouquet of floral origin stories

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

Some may be more useful than others.

Rare and Amusing Insults, Volume 3

Useful words for everyday interactions

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

The secret top 10 words experts use to win at SCRABBLE

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Our maraca shake brings all the hautbois to the yard

Birds Say the Darndest Things

10 Words (or Phrases) Birds Seem to Be Saying

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

Look what you made us do

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

More moons than you can shake a stick at

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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The Words of the Week - May 9

Lookups from the Met Gala, the Kentucky Derby, and the Sistine Chapel

What exactly is a 'liberal'?

No one wants a 'servile arts' degree

15 Cheffy Words for Chefs (and Everyone Else)

Including 'cheffy'

A Great Big List of Bread Words

Quit loafing around and get that bread (word)

A List of The U.S. Military Ranks in Order

From Private to General of the Army
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Obscure & Fun

Obscure & Fun

12 Words from the Wrong Side of the Law

Crime doesn't pay, but vocabulary might

Foreign

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17 English Words That Come From Japanese

Some borrowed words don't get returned

All About Latin Plurals

Check your dictionary

8 Words We Stole from French

Spoiler: We stole way more than 8

Digging Up the Latin Roots of 14 Abbreviations

Beyond 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Skunk, Bayou, and Other Words with Native American Origins

You've used more than you might think
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Games & Hobbies

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12 Words From Basketball

Plus a few terms that never quite made it

What It Means to ‘Touch Base’

Just checking in with it

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

Remember this and win.

Why 'Love' Means "Nothing"

In tennis. This is about tennis.

The Scoop on 'The Proof Is in the Pudding'

A delicious question
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Insults

Insults

You Talk Too Much: 8 Words for the Wordy

You can't shut them up, but you can label them

Science & Nature

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Fruit vs. Vegetable

Are you sure you know which is what?

7 Especially Fitting Common Names for Plants

So you don't mix up your Swiss Cheese plants with your Dutchman's Breeches

12 Words for Signs of Spring

Spring is springing

What is a 'coulrophobe' so afraid of?

Unusual Phobias, Vol. 2

'Opossum,' O Lovely 'Possum'

On a marsupial with various names
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Word History

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Quick: Read This!

'Quick' once had a very different meaning

13 New Words for Old Things

When did 'mail' become 'snail mail'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Words for uncommon fears

12 Words Whose History Will Surprise You

They all use this one weird trick (etymology)

7 Run-Down Words That Have Seen Better Days

They've taken a hit but are still standing.
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