play peter_talk_about_word_of_the_year_2016
Up Next
Title
CANCEL
peter_talk_about_word_of_the_year_2016
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.

Up next

play peter_talk_about_word_of_the_year_2016
2016 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

 

How we chose 'surreal'

play emily brewster and one and the same text graphic
'One in the same' or 'One and the same'?

 

Is it all the same anyway?

play video title attorney generals
Is It 'Attorney Generals' Or 'Attorneys General'?

 

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

play hot mess
Hot Mess

 

Our research turned up two archaic literal meanings

play video who vs whom
Who vs. Whom

 

Good news for those who feel stuffy saying 'whom.'

play serenity-carr-definitely-image
How to Remember the Spelling of 'Definitely'

 

A definitive answer.

play video its vs its
Its vs. It's

 

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

Games & Quizzes

See All
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
puzzle-piece-road
Missing Link Quiz February 2026 Five seconds to figure out the word that fits bot...
See All