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Words of the Year

2016 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

Editor Peter Sokolowski talks about 'surreal' and the rest of our Word of the Year 2016 selections


How did we choose surreal as our Word of the Year for 2016? Peter Sokolowski explains the data behind our decisions, and what that tells us about what people were thinking this year.

Don't miss our in-depth look at surreal and our gallery of top trending words from 2016.

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2016 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

 

How we chose 'surreal'

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'Between you and __'? Simple guidance for a tricky pronoun.

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And is one way more correct than the others?

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How to Remember 'Affect' and 'Effect'

 

A simple way to keep them apart. (Most of the time.)

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'Poets laureate'? 'Court-martials'? The curious history of postpositive adjectives in English.

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English was never the same after the Norman Conquest

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

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