Wordplay

Arts & Culture (page 6)

Words We're Watching: 'Ambigram'

There's more than one way to see it.

The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 5/3/19

Words from the week of 5/3/2019

The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 4/26/19

Words from the week of 4/26/2019

We Added New Words to the Dictionary in April 2019

From 'bioabsorbable' to 'bottle episode'

The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 4/19/19

Words from the week of 4/19/2019

Aww, It's So 'Adorkable'

A word for the charmingly awkward

What Is a 'Librocubicularist'?

One who reads in bed

'MacGyver': The Verb

To make or repair with what is on hand

'Homoflexible'/'Heteroflexible': Sexuality Spectrum

Sometimes attracted outside one's orientation

'Affluvia': Words We're Watching

The waste produced by the rich

Aptronym: Usage and Examples

A name that suits its owner in an apt way

What is a 'Weenus' ('Wenis,' 'Weenis')?

The loose skin at the joint of one's elbow

11 Authors on Their One-Word Book Titles

Telling an entire story in a single word

Just what’s so weird about that ‘flex'?

When you can’t help but show off.

The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 4/12/19

Words from the week of 4/12/2019

The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 4/5/19

Words from the week of 4/5/2019

7 Words and Phrases Inspired by the Theater

Language that lives on after the curtain comes down.

The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 3/29/19

Words from the week of 3/29/2019

Checking Boxes: 8 Box Words

From 'chatterbox' to 'shadowbox'

This Isn't ‘Sponcon’ (But It Is About the Word)

Trust us, it’s the best money can buy

The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 3/22/19

Words from the week of 3/22/2019

The Sartorial Secret Behind the 'Schneid'

Your losing streak is over

The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 3/15/19

Words from the week of 3/15/2019

The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 3/8/19

Words from the week of 3/8/2019

The Big and the Small of It

From 'big league' to 'small fry'

The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 3/1/19

Words from the week of 3/1/2019

On ‘Hopepunk,’ ‘Mannerpunk,’ and a Range of Punky Genres

Feel optimistic? Well, do ya, punk?

The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 2/22/19

Words from the week of 2/22/2019

The News On 'Nontroversy'

Nothing to see here.

The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 2/15/19

Words from the week of 2/15/2019

Love Poems for Word Nerds

For you, from us.

The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 2/8/19

Words from the week of 2/8/2019

Doing the Work of the ’Edgelord’

Look at Mr. Cheery over here.

The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 2/1/19

Gofer, gag order and other words that defined the week

Words We're Watching: 'Matriculate'

The football one, not the college one

The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 1/25/19

Words from the week of 1/25/2019

8 Words with Secret Meanings Only the Musician-Types Know

We hope we don't get in trouble for telling

The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 1/18/19

Words from the week of 1/18/2019

Some Odd Words with ISMO: "Junk in the Trunk"

Comedian ISMO on what separates a boot from a trunk

Some Odd Words with ISMO: "People Tipping"

Comedian ISMO on the complexities of the word 'tip'

Parts of a Book: Quire, Colophon, and More

There are a lot of chapters in this collection.

The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 1/11/19

Words from the week of 1/11/2019

Words We're Watching: 'Inspo'

This word is such an inspiration

Trying Very Hard With ‘Extra’

A new twist on a classic word

The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 1/4/19

Words from the week of 1/4/2019

The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 12/28/18

Words from the week of 12/28/2018

'Cherpumple': 3 Words Packed Into 1

Have your cake and eat pie too

The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 12/21/18

Words that defined the week

Songs You May Not Have Heard Of (But Definitely Heard)

'Aubade,' 'threnody,' and other songs for the right mood

What Puts the 'Tide' in ‘Yuletide'?

Good origins we bring to you and your kin

Merriam-Webster's Words of the Year 2018

Our Word of the Year justice, plus 10 more

The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 12/14/18

Words from the week of 12/14/2018

A 12-Word Journey on the Buddhist Path

Wordies read on for enlightenment.

The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 12/7/18

Words from the week of 12/7/2018

Words We're Watching: 'Petrichor'

Aka, the scent of rain hitting dry earth

The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 11/30/18

Words from the week of 11/30/2018

Too Much Information on ‘Overshare’

More Than You Ever Needed to Know

Words We're Watching: 'Christmas creep'

It's earlier and earlier every year.

The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 11/16

Words from the week of 11/16/2018

The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 11/9

Words from the week of 11/9/2018

An Irresistible Piece On 'Dessert Stomach'

There's always room for another article.

A Most Incredible 'Self-Own'

Or: making a fool of yourself.

The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 11/2

Words from the week of 11/2/2018

Words We're Watching: 'Jelly' (The Adjective)

When you wish you were there.

The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 10/19

Words from the week of 10/19/2018

Words We're Watching: 'Final Girl'

At last we meet.

The Inside Poop On 'Spoopy'

Notes on a new Halloween classic

The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 10/12

Words from the week of 10/12/2018

The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 10/5

Words from the week of 10/5/2018

Words We're Watching: 'Woah'

Is it time to accept 'woah'?

The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 9/28

Words from the week of 9/28/2018

Words We're Watching: 'Debbie Downer'

Womp womp.

The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 9/21

Words from the week of 9/21/2018

Our ‘Kumbaya’ Moment

How a folk song became a term of derision.

The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 9/14

Words from the week of 9/14/2018

Words We're Watching: 'Copypasta'

You might've seen this one before

Words We're Watching: 'Patchwriting'

Paraphrasing in a cut-and-paste world

'Shadowban' Emerges from the Dark

If you can see this post, it’s not happening here.

Trainspotting

The practice of watching trains

Hygge

Cozy or comfortable

Noice

A slang word for "nice"

The Floor/Ground Is (Lava)

A game in which players avoid the floor

FML

F&% my life

8 Ball

An eighth of an ounce of cocaine

Mile High Club

A euphemism for sex in an airplane

Hypebeast

A person devoted to fashion

Juggalo

A fan of the rap duo Insane Clown Posse

Words We're Watching: 'OTP'

One true pairing

LMGTFY

Let Me Google That For You

TFW

That feeling when

Finsta

Fake Instagram

IMAO

In my arrogant opinion

Machine Learning

A machine improving its own performance

Baby Fever

The longing to have a child

Social Justice Warrior

A mocking term for a progressive

Adultism

Prejudice against young people

TTYL

Talk to you later

Mic Drop

An emphatic ending

Beast Mode

An aggressive persona in competition

SMH

Shaking my head

Sapiophile?

One attracted to intelligence

666

The Mark of the Beast

Tabata

A type of high-intensity interval training

Bubble Butt

Rounded buttocks

Sugar Mama

A woman who financially supports a lover

Bracketology

Predicting the outcome of a tournament

The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 9/7

Words from the week of 9/7/2018

We Put a Bunch of New Words in the Dictionary in September 2018

More than 840 new entries.
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