Yearly Archives: 2019

  1. Adrenalize Your Intellect With This Word Of The Day Quiz

    Feeling shirty? Sashay through this week’s soothing Word of the Day Quiz. | January 21 – 27, 2019 If the quiz doesn’t display, please try opening in the Chrome browser. Interested in Words of the Day from the past? Check out this one that we brought to life …     Tell us your favorite word from this week below (and share it with your …

  2. Naughty Words Kids Use Before They Learn Their Meanings

    Stop us when this starts to sound familiar. You’re chatting away, having a great conversation, and then everyone seems to stop in their tracks. Did they just notice a giant chunk of basil in your front teeth? Catch a whiff of those garlic knots you had with lunch? Or, was it something about that word you used that has your friends’ shoulders shaking and their …

  3. Why Are We Calling Everything A “Wave”?

    by Taneesh KheraWhen you picture a wave, what do you think of? I bet you see a body of water, possibly a lake, but more likely an ocean. A shore might come to mind, as would sand and beaches, and maybe a surfer or a boat or ship. Another possibility, not altogether different, is a hand saying hello, waving goodbye. If you consume much news, …

  4. Is “Crude” The Right Word To Use To Describe Someone’s Language?

    by Ashley AustrewAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been in office for less than a month, and already she’s been the subject of controversy on multiple occasions. First, she was reportedly booed in Congress while voting to elect Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the house. Then, she was targeted by the leak of the now-infamous recording of her dancing in college. And most recently, Ocasio-Cortez made headlines for telling …

  5. Not All Bad: 7 Ways “Bad” Can Be Good

    The word bad is well, just that. Its original meaning is still the most common one in use today: “not good in any manner or degree.” But, come on, we all know bad isn’t always a bad thing … in fact, using bad as a word of approval started in the 1890s and was popularized in the 1920s within the jazz scene. There’s even a quote …

  6. Gadabouts Won’t Forget About This Word Of The Day Quiz

    Brain tired from all that ratiocinating? Kick back with this week’s Word of the Day Quiz. If the quiz doesn’t display, please try opening in the Chrome browser. Tell us your favorite word from this week below (and share it with your friends on Facebook and Twitter)!

  7. Twerk And Other Trending Words On Dictionary.com

    What do Cardi B and Vice President Mike Pence’s wife Karen Pence have in common? They both helped put words on the most searched list from January 11–18, 2019! Contumacious Second Lady Karen Pence made headlines January 15 with an announcement that she accepted a job as an art teacher at a conservative Christian school in Virginia. The vice president’s wife landed on the trending …

  8. Is It Time For All Couples To Use The Term “Partner”?

    by Ashley AustrewBoyfriend or girlfriend. Husband or wife. Significant other. Bae. There are a lot of different words one could use to describe the person with whom they’re in a romantic relationship. But, the one word that is most quickly redefining the way we talk about relationships is partner. Is First Partner the future? Jennifer Siebel Newsom, who is married to California’s newest governor, Gavin Newsom, …

  9. The Oldest Abbreviations In English

    In the age of LOL, WTF, and OMG, abbreviations are often looked at as a sign of the coming apocalypse. (Spoiler: LOL, WTF, and OMG are not the oldest abbreviations in English—you’re shocked, we know.) So-called textspeak is viewed as a lesser form of English, and many people worry that pretty soon we’ll all be communicating solely in emoji. But, abbreviations aren’t exactly a new invention. …

  10. There’s Nothing Pawky About This Word Of The Day Quiz

    Tired from terraforming all weekend? Heal thyself with this week’s salvific Word of the Day Quiz. If the quiz doesn’t display, please try opening in the Chrome browser. Tell us your favorite word from this week below (and share it with your friends on Facebook and Twitter)!

  11. Why Can’t Women Swear?

    by Ashley Austrew It’s not every day you hear the F-word at a congressional event … But in January 2019, at an event celebrating progressive women in congress, that’s exactly what happened. Rashida Tlaib, the country’s first Palestinian-American congresswoman, told a story about what her congressional win meant to her son. She told the crowd, “…when your son looks at you and says: ‘Momma, look, …

  12. Humanitarian, Sublimate, And Other Trending Words On Dictionary.com

    From Glenn Close at the Golden Globes to Cyntoia Brown in Tennessee, here’s who (and what) had folks searching for meaning on Dictionary.com the week of January 4–11, 2019. Humanitarian President Donald Trump made his first-ever address to the nation from the Oval Office this week, so it’s no surprise that folks tuned in to see what he had to say, or that plenty stuck …