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video cynic
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.

play there theyre their video
There, They're, Their

 

There, there. We'll sort it out.

play illustration of a man watching a washing machine overflow
'All over sudden' vs. 'All of a sudden'

 

Figuring it out at once

play semantic bleaching text on white background
What Is 'Semantic Bleaching'?

 

How 'literally' can mean "figuratively"

play hot mess
Hot Mess

 

Our research turned up two archaic literal meanings

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The Serial Comma Explained

 

Why don't they call it the Merriam-Webster comma?

play calendar that says day today
Is It 'day today' or 'day-to-day'?

 

What about Day Tomorrow?

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
swan-with-a-cygnet
Quiz: Match the Baby Animal to Its Mama Prove you're the best of the nest.
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