Vocabulary.com Blog
Articles from September, 2014
Vocabulary Shout-Out
In "Good Old Days," Word Learning was Still a Challenge
A children's classic debunks the myth that our ancestors were less intimidated by words
Teachers and parents may drive themselves crazy with the thought that vocabulary learning among today's children is "not what it used to be." But one primary source document suggests that children a century ago found long words to be just as intimidating as they do now.
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Word CountWriters Talk About Writing
Your Head Will Spin: "Naught," "Aught," and "Ought"
We sure have to work hard to say what ends meaning "nothing."
"I ought to know better, but I know naught about the difference between aught and nought" is a sentence sure to make more than one head spin.
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Vocabulary Shout-Out
Brilliant Chutzpah: A Job Seeker's Love Letter to Words
"Letters of Note" brings this gem to light
When Academy Award-winning screenwriter Robert Pirosh was first looking for a job at a Hollywood studio in 1934, he penned the following vocabulary-rich missive, which we found featured on the blog and book, Letters of Note.
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Blog Excerpts
Happy National Punctuation Day!
Did you know today is National Punctuation Day? Celebrate with some of our punctuation-related articles from the past...
· Learning to Love the Semicolon
· "Punctuation Hero" or Vandal?
· What's Your Favorite Punctuation Mark?
In the latest installment of the Slate podcast Lexicon Valley, I take on a word that every child knows, orange, and reveal its hidden history. It's a remarkably well-traveled word, and its travels tell us a great deal about the cultural history of many of the world's great civilizations.
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Tasty MorselsGood stuff from Vocabulary.com
Rialto High Wins Leaderboard with 100-Word Challenge
The southern California school is poised to be a Vocabulary Bowl front-runner.
Rialto High School started the academic year off with a bang, sweeping the Vocabulary.com leaderboard with a back-to-school challenge from teacher Jennifer Johnston to her students: master 100 words every week. She joined them in the challenge, putting herself out as the rabbit to beat in the race.
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Topics:
Vocabulary Bowl
Tasty MorselsGood stuff from Vocabulary.com
Apparently, We All Leave Vocabulary Fingerprints Behind
Here's how to pick out yours
Do you have a vocabulary fingerprint — are there words you use often enough that others recognize them as belonging to you? Think: the apparently kid. Slate's Good Word columnist Matthew J.X. Malady admits to iteration as a vocabulary fingerprint. Meanwhile, Twilight fans will note that Stephenie Meyer uses stare 181 times in the first book in the series alone.
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