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Behind the Dictionary

"Tradecraft" Infiltrates the Language

How words with seemingly transparent meanings can settle into semantic idiosyncrasy.
Fri Jun 20 00:00:00 EDT 2014

Tradecraft, which has been spy jargon since at least the 1960s, has been making its way into more mainstream consciousness recently, as we hear about operations like the search for Osama bin Laden, or about Edward Snowden's training as a spy. It's a good example of how words with seemingly transparent meanings can settle into semantic idiosyncrasy through historical circumstance. Continue reading...
Tasty Morsels

Fermi School Shows "Pizzazz" in Leaderboard Win

Vocabulary learning is key skill for these bilingual students, teachers say
Wed Jun 18 14:00:00 EDT 2014

When the fourth through eighth graders at Enrico Fermi School for the Performing Arts in Yonkers, NY swept the Vocabulary.com school leaderboard in May, their entire community stood up and took notice. Continue reading...
Candlepower

A Very Enterprising Suffix
Mon Jun 16 00:00:00 EDT 2014

"What was your latest preneur?"
It's one of the most quoted lines in the 2010 movie The Social Network. The line is proof that -preneur has bid adieu to its entre- associate and become a word part with independent staying power. Continue reading...
Commonly confused words

sac / sack
Mon Jun 16 00:00:00 EDT 2014

Both are containers, but a sac is for plants and animals, and a sack is for a sandwich. So spiders put their eggs in a sac, and people put their groceries in a sack. Continue reading...
Department of Word Lists

From "Pomposity" to "Bewilderment": World Cup Vocab

The era of dumbing down may be over, but does that leave many of us confused?
Thu Jun 12 00:00:00 EDT 2014

Soccer or football? Game or match? Pitch or field? And why would you refer to a shirt as a kit? World Cup vocabulary explained. Continue reading...
Word Count

"Dos and Don'ts" or "Do's and Don'ts"?
Wed Jun 11 14:00:00 EDT 2014

We're happy to introduce the first in a series of tips on usage and style from the inimitable Grammar Girl, a.k.a. Mignon Fogarty. First up: how do you punctuate do and don't when the words are pluralized? Continue reading...
Tasty Morsels

Logophiles in Love: Words to Woo By

Play the word-stumper game with your honey
Tue Jun 10 00:00:00 EDT 2014

When logophiles Henry and Catherine Petroski were first falling in love, they passed each other "word stumper" notes in lieu of flowers and candy. Want to replicate their game? Here are ten word stumpers to enjoy or share. Continue reading...
Tasty Morsels

Is Screen Time Good Vocabulary Building for Children?

A study of British children's creative writing suggests it is
Mon Jun 09 00:00:00 EDT 2014

Anyone familiar with the children's movie Despicable Me 2 will not be surprised to hear that use of minion among children has grown by 250 percent in the last year. Similarly, kids who play Minecraft are not immune to the charms of unusual vocabulary ocelot, nether and spawn as never before. Does this mean screen time might actually be good for vocab? Continue reading...
Behind the Dictionary

Days of Future Past, Past of Future Days
Fri Jun 06 00:00:00 EDT 2014

Days of Future Past: It's not just the subtitle of the new X-Men movie that recently opened; it's an invitation to explore some of the lesser-traveled corridors in the English verb tense system. Continue reading...
Tasty Morsels

How a Teacher Inspired Her School to Dominate the Vocabulary.com Leaderboard
Thu Jun 05 17:00:00 EDT 2014

When we tabulated the schools with the highest point totals on the Vocabulary.com leaderboard for the past school year, the overall winner was no surprise. Corkscrew Middle School in Naples, Florida, which won the monthly championship banner three times (in November, January, and April), accumulated a total of more than 220 million points over the last nine months. Continue reading...

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