Wordplay

Arts & Culture

The Changing Meaning of 'Elope'

Read this before you elope. Or 'elope.'

9 Other Words for Beautiful

Here are some additional words for calling something lovely

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

And why isn't it 'bury the lead'?

10 Words for Food with Unfortunate Names

All of them may be delicious, but one is offal

Ten More Words from Taylor Swift Songs

… Ready for them?

The Hilarious History of 'OK'

English's most successful export

1,400 New Words and Definitions Added to Merriam-Webster.com

10 Words Conjuring Hell and the Devil

Going beyond the fire and brimstone

Why Jaywalking is Called Jaywalking

The shape of the letter J has nothing to do with it

What's so extra about 'extra-virgin'?

The technical vocabulary hiding in your kitchen cabinet

Ten Kinds of Happiness

Joyful words from around the world

12 Words and Phrases from The Simpsons

A perfectly cromulent way to embiggen your vocabulary

If You Like to Complain About 'Decimate'...

You'll love to hate these other words!

The Opposite of Déjà Vu

When the familiar becomes unrecognizable

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

10 Phrases from Shakespeare

Where the "wild goose chase" comes from

9 Financial Words With Surprising Origins

In the beginning, 'income' simply meant "coming in"

Has ‘supper’ always meant ‘dinner?'

Your grandmother might answer differently.

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Brush up your Homer

11 Words Used to Great Effect by Edgar Allan Poe

The Vocabulary in the Rue Morgue
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