Archives
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What’s The Problem With Whataboutism?
There are all sorts of retorts people resort to when criticized or called out for a mistake or wrongdoing of some kind. (Heaven forbid anyone just say, “I’m sorry. I was wrong,” anymore.) One of the most maddening kinds is increasingly being referred to as whataboutism. You know it when you hear it. “Hey, weren’t you supposed to do the dishes last night?” you ask your …
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“Hero” vs. “Protagonist”: What Is The Difference?
Many stories have one thing in common: a brave main character who ends up saving the day. But does slaying the dragon or defusing the bomb make this person a hero or a protagonist? And can the two words be used interchangeably? The correct answer to both is yes, with the caveat that the words are not always synonymous. Both nouns have multiple definitions and …
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“On line” vs. “In line”: Which Do You Say?
Some people find it easy to tell if someone is from New York or New Jersey the moment they meet them—all they have to do is start chatting! And if the New Yorker’s accent isn’t an immediate giveaway, the phrase on line usually is. In many states across the country, it’s all the same: people stand in line at the grocery store, wait in line …
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How The George Floyd Protests Have Powerfully Changed Search Trends on Dictionary.com
The protests against racism and police brutality, spurred by George Floyd—a Black man who was killed after a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes—have expanded in size and scope across the entire world. The protests have, in turn, spurred the beginnings of everything from deep, uncomfortable reflections to institutional change and reform. And Dictionary.com has seen significant search …
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Black Lives Matter And 9 Other Influential Calls To Action You Should Know
Black Lives Matter is a powerful political and social movement aiming to ensure basic human rights for Black people. Many people are familiar with the name of the movement as it is used amid protests against violence inflicted on Black people involving police officers, including the death of George Floyd in 2020. As the movement has expanded all around the world, many may not know …
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Why Do We Use Symbols To Censor Swearwords?
When the force of a swearword is too extreme (but some form of cuss must be used) symbolic stand-ins have long been used for lewdness. Suffice it to say, any emotional keyboard-striker can blurt out something that people perceive as a sub for swears. Whether it’s to diminish the force of swear, to get around censorship rules, or maybe just because symbols are @#$%ing cool to look at, …
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“Mistress” And Other Words That Only Apply To Women
It takes two people to have an affair. Despite this fact, there is a clear disparity in the way the public generally discusses extramarital relationships. Heterosexual men who have affairs are just heterosexual men who had affairs. But, the women with whom they have those affairs quickly get labeled with another term, one for which there is no effective male equivalent in English: mistress. As …
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