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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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What Is an Eggcorn?

 

And how did it get that name?

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'All over sudden' vs. 'All of a sudden'

 

Figuring it out at once

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On Contractions of Multiple Words

 

You all would not have guessed some of these

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A Look at Uncommon Onomatopoeia

 

Some imitative words are more surprising than others

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Words of the Year: 1066

 

English was never the same after the Norman Conquest

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What Is 'Semantic Bleaching'?

 

How 'literally' can mean "figuratively"

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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Guess the Curious Origins of These Everyday Words Oh, that’s where that comes from…
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