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Word History

The History of 'Cynic'

How an ancient philosophical movement devoted to the pursuit of virtue came to describe eye-rolling criticism.

How an ancient philosophical movement devoted to the pursuit of virtue came to describe eye-rolling criticism.

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play video cynic
The History of 'Cynic'

 

How an ancient philosophical movement devoted to the pursuit of virtue came to describe eye-rolling criticism.

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Some Odd Words with ISMO: "Junk in the Trunk"

 

Comedian ISMO on what separates a boot from a trunk

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An Abbreviated History of American English Spelling

 

Soop, wimmen, and headake did not make the cut

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Ending a Sentence with a Preposition

 

An old-fashioned rule we can no longer put up with.

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The Schwa

 

The most common vowel sound in English causes many spelling problems.

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'Nip it in the butt' or 'Nip it in the bud'?

 

We're gonna stop you right there

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I vs. Me

 

'Between you and __'? Simple guidance for a tricky pronoun.

Games & Quizzes

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Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
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Little Words, Big Vocabulary Quiz Time to sweat the small stuff.
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