Whether you regard yourself as a scholar of linguistics or a self proclaimed language snob—you’ve probably, at least once, crossed over to the dark side and used the word like in a sentence where it, like, doesn’t belong. Narrowly escaping the grammar police, you catch yourself, cringe, and promise never again! This usage of like is known as a slang interjection. This form as well …
by Kory Stamper published June 26th, 2018When we use dictionaries, we think that we are getting a pure view of language, one uncluttered by spin, by misuse, by shifting context. But, lexicographers like me will tell you that language is context. Every meaning in a dictionary is written based on the contextual uses of a word—and context, like people, can get confusing and messy. In …
If you have to ask what it means to be cool, well, you probably aren’t cool. What is cool, though, is just how many slang words we’ve used over the years to talk about people and things that we think are fab, funky, fresh, groovy, fly, phat, lit, gnarly, rad, and the cat’s meow. And that is just a taste of the coolness we managed …
The language of parenting is constantly evolving, and these changes often occur in tandem with new parenting movements and styles. The early 20th-century authoritarian style of parenting gave way to a more permissive parent in the ’60s and ’70s. The ’80s and ’90s parent became more intricately involved and focused on building their children’s self-esteem. Trophies for everyone! Now, in the early 21st century, the …
Hello there, reader. We have a sneaking suspicion that because you’re here today, you may enjoy reading books… And that’s great, because we love books, too! Of course, the only thing better than buying a new book for yourself is buying a book for your favorite book lover. But which books make great gifts? We’ve gathered together a shopping list of some books that will …
Kwanzaa is a celebration of pan-African culture and history that brings families together to share knowledge, traditions, and, of course, a delicious meal. Although the specifics of how each family celebrates Kwanzaa may vary, family gatherings, music, and storytelling are typical. How well do you know the language and symbols of Kwanzaa? Take our quiz to find out!
Whether you’re an astrology devotee or a casual observer, you’re probably familiar with sun signs and horoscopes. But what would you say if someone asked what zodiac sign resides in your eighth house? Houses are kind of a big deal in astrology, but we aren’t talking about the ones with roofs and walls. These houses contain zodiac signs and planets that can tell you more …
by Rory Gory The letter X is often used to represent the unknown or the indescribable. In English, there are so few words beginning with X that in Samuel Johnson’s famous early dictionary, X was defined as, “a letter, which, though found in Saxon words, begins no word in the English language.” The mathematician and philosopher René Descartes used the letter X to represent variable …
In our latest update to Dictionary.com, we added more than 300 new words and definitions, and revised over 1,700 entries. Many of the newly added terms are pulled straight from the headlines like Daesh, intersectionality, warmist, woke, and Zika virus. Several of the new words relate directly to the media, including lamestream, presstitute, and hot take. Mainstream cultural conversations give Dictionary.com’s lexicographers an endless supply …
A look at the slang and pop culture terms from songs to figure out why these annoyingly catchy songs went viral.