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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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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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An Abbreviated History of American English Spelling

 

Soop, wimmen, and headake did not make the cut

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'One in the same' or 'One and the same'?

 

Is it all the same anyway?

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Pictures in the Dictionary

 

The story of those iconic illustrations.

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The Schwa

 

The most common vowel sound in English causes many spelling problems.

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Its vs. It's

 

Some practical guidance, and interesting history, about a common mistake.

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Hot Mess

 

Our research turned up two archaic literal meanings

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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