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The distinction between less and fewer is one of the most popular rules in the peevers' arsenal. Students have it drilled into their heads that fewer is for things you can count while less is for things you can't. But there's a problem: the rule as it's commonly taught is wrong, and it's dulling our sense of what's actually right. Continue reading...

Garbage is such a trashy word. It suggests rubbish, waste, and, well, garbage. So why not put a positive spin on refuse with the term non-core assets? It applies equally well to financial garbage and garbage garbage, not to mention anything else that's not worth a lick. Continue reading...

Welcome to the latest in our series of quick tips on usage and style shared by Mignon Fogarty, better known as Grammar Girl. In this tip, Mignon has some advice on confusion over "ban together" versus "band together." Continue reading...

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. Continue reading...

"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. Continue reading...

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. Continue reading...

Did you know today is National Punctuation Day? Celebrate with some of our punctuation-related articles from the past...

· Exclamation Nation

· Learning to Love the Semicolon

· "Punctuation Hero" or Vandal?

· What's Your Favorite Punctuation Mark?

· Throwing Light on Shady Characters

· The Problem with Punctuation: Some Classroom Findings

Continue reading...

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. Continue reading...

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. Continue reading...