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If you're a fan of Wordle, Spelling Bee et al, may I recommend Pilfer by @merriam-webster.com www.merriam-webster.com/games/pilfer

submitted 1 day ago • 8 comments

Congratulations to Cordyceps on their upcoming “The Last of Us” premiere! In addition to the red carpet, Cordyceps (a genus of more than 300 species of fungi) have a cosmopolitan distribution and are found on every continent except Antarctica. 🧵⬇️

submitted 2 days ago • 5 comments

These are your words of the week courage Kafkaesque facilitate bear market thalweg www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/the...

submitted 2 days ago • 10 comments

If you have a dictionary that you don't show love Oh, yes, son, we're talking to you.

submitted 2 days ago • 156 comments

Oh no.

submitted 3 days ago • 17 comments

Encyclopedia Britannica was nominated for a Webby Award! Please vote for us here: shorturl.at/XH8nc

submitted 3 days ago • 1 comment

How all great inventions are born: getting sick of alternating between two different pairs of glasses for near and far vision.

submitted 3 days ago • 4 comments

‘Sound’ (loud sound), ‘sound’ (safe and sound), and ‘sound’ (water) are not related. ‘Sound’ (loud) comes from Latin ‘sonus.’ ‘Sound’ (safe and) comes from Old English ‘gesund,’ meaning "healthy." ‘Sound’ (water) comes from Old Norse ‘sund,’ meaning “strait."

submitted 3 days ago • 62 comments

MR. WORDWIDE

submitted 3 days ago • 22 comments

‘Asterisk’ comes from a Geek word meaning “little star.” *Greek

submitted 4 days ago • 54 comments

‘Rhyming slang’ or ‘Cockney rhyming slang’ is super fun and a little confusing and probably easier to show than explain. Rhyming slang: “Someone is on the dog for you.” Translation: “Someone is on the phone for you.” dog —-> dog and bone —> ‘bone’ rhymes with ‘phone’ 🧵⬇️

submitted 4 days ago • 37 comments

Blame Thor’s dad for the ‘d’ in ‘Wednesday.’ The day was named after Odin, also known as ‘Woden’ --> ‘Woden’s Day.’ Woden is the Norse equivalent of the Roman god Mercury. Mercury can be seen in the French/Spanish/Italian words for Wednesday: mercredi/miércoles/mercoledì.

submitted 4 days ago • 25 comments

ICU = 🏥 I see you = ✋👁️🫵 aye sea ewe = ✅🌊🐑

submitted 5 days ago • 34 comments

Both ‘libel’ & ‘slander’ refer to defamation and are often confused for each other. ‘Libel’ is a written/published statement. 'L' for 'letters.' ‘Slander’ is for spoken. 'S' for 'spoken.' ‘Label’ & ‘slender’ are different words and are rarely confused for each other.

submitted 5 days ago • 60 comments

The verb ‘impact’ is 200 years older than the noun. Many object to it, especially when it is used to mean “to directly affect,” as in “changes that will impact us all.” This use dates to the first half of the 20th century, making it significantly newer than others.

submitted 5 days ago • 21 comments

You only hear ‘ulterior’ when it comes to motives. If you read ‘lo’ you’re probably about to ‘behold’ something. ‘Echelon’ seems to only be at one level: the upper one. If you’re confronted by ‘asunder,’ odds are it’s been ‘torn.’

submitted 6 days ago • 84 comments

Welcome back.

submitted 6 days ago • 22 comments

Slams dictionary shut til Monday

submitted 23 days ago • 94 comments

These are your words of the week embezzlement God's country April Fools' Day filibuster referendum www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/the...

submitted 9 days ago • 10 comments

To ‘fleece’ someone means to take something, usually money, from that person in a dishonest way. The noun ‘fleece’ refers to the wool that covers a sheep. When you are fleeced, you are stripped of something much in the way that fleece is shorn from a sheep.

submitted 9 days ago • 23 comments

You had us at "a book of spells, the key to wonders."

submitted 9 days ago • 311 comments

We cannot comment on these rumors.

submitted 10 days ago • 14 comments

Congratu-BLEEPING-lations! It’s time we had a little talk about your use of expletive infixation. ‘Expletive infixation’ is the linguistic term for profanity inserted into a word for emphasis. (For this thread, we’ll use 'BLEEPING,' but feel free to substitute another word.)

submitted 10 days ago • 209 comments

We checked with our editors. This is correct.

submitted 11 days ago • 2 comments

‘Filibuster’ comes from Spanish ‘filibustero’ which literally means “freebooter.” freebooter = a pirate or plunderer

submitted 11 days ago • 36 comments

“I’ll be 10 min late sorry!!!” -ashamed -fragile -unreliable “A thousand apologies. The relentless slog of time has overtaken my faculties.” -powerful -commanding -honest

submitted 11 days ago • 107 comments