Vocabulary.com Blog
Articles from 2011
CandlepowerAd and marketing creatives
Mass-Market Artisans
Everything's going artisanal these days, from pizza to dog treats.
In September, Domino's Pizza -- the second-largest pizza chain in the United States, with annual revenue approaching $1.5 billion -- introduced "Artisan Pizzas" to its 5,000 stores nationwide. Are you picturing skilled workers up to their elbows in whole-grain flour and locally sourced tomatoes, lovingly patting each pie into a charmingly irregular shape? Well, forget about it.
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Word RoutesExploring the pathways of our lexicon
Now Pitching in the World Series: The Man They Call "Scrabble"
Marc Rzepczynski is the latest baseball player with a Scrabble-friendly name.
In this year's World Series, one name in particular will likely catch the eye of even casual baseball fans. In the late innings of the first two games, a relief pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals came in to face the Texas Rangers: Marc Rzepczynski. The announcers were clearly ready for Rzepczynski's appearance and pronounced his name smoothly (as "zep-CHIN-ski"), helpfully explaining that his nickname is "Scrabble." So how does Rzepczynski stack up against other hard-to-spell baseball names?
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Dog EaredBooks we love
The Birth of "Webster's Dictionary"
Noah Webster revolutionized American lexicography, and the American language.
Yesterday, October 16, was National Dictionary Day, celebrated annually on the birthday of the great American lexicographer Noah Webster. Today the "Webster" name is practically synonymous with dictionaries, but how did the first "Webster's Dictionary" come to be? In this excerpt from The Forgotten Founding Father, Joshua Kendall recounts the publication of Webster's Compendious Dictionary in 1806, the first dictionary to bear his name and the first to feature his "American" spelling.
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Word RoutesExploring the pathways of our lexicon
Occupying Word Street
The Occupy Wall Street movement has developed its own lexicon, starting with "occupy" itself.
The public protest over economic inequalities known as "Occupy Wall Street" has been going on nearly a month now, with the original demonstration in Manhattan's Financial District spreading to cities around the world. Thanks to the success of the movement, the lingo of the protesters has spread quickly, with the verb occupy in particular becoming a kind of rallying cry.
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Word CountWriters Talk About Writing
Ice Water, Ice Cream, but No Ice Tea!
Sometimes we lose the "-d" in compounds like "ice(d) cream," and sometimes we don't.
Ever wonder why we say "ice" water and "ice" cream but "iced" tea? And should there be a "d" in "didn't use(d) to"? Merrill Perlman explains when the "d " is necessary.
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Word RoutesExploring the pathways of our lexicon
"And One More Thing": The Insanely Great Language of Steve Jobs
Remembering the linguistic legacy of the charismatic Apple co-founder.
After the passing of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs on Wednesday, the outpouring of sympathy on Twitter was overwhelming, with an estimated 10,000 tweets per second. Several of the top "trending topics" over the following day were Jobs-related, marked by the hashtags #ThankYouSteve, #iSad, #ThinkDifferent, and #StayHungry. Even in death, Jobs's unique and spirited way with words was palpable.
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Teachers at WorkA column about teaching
Word Up: Putting the Flow in Vocabulary Instruction
The founders of Flocabulary take a lyrical approach to vocabulary instruction.
We recently spoke to Alex Rappaport and Blake Harrison, founders of the innovative educational company Flocabulary, about how they were inspired to infuse challenging vocabulary and educational content into rap music. In this interview you'll learn more about why they feel rap music is the perfect medium for their mission... and you'll get to sample one of their flocabulous videos.
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