Vocabulary.com Blog
Articles from October, 2013
Blog Excerpts
Back by Popular Demand: "Hallow, What's This?"
How "All-Hallows-Eve" morphed into the word we know today
Two years ago on Halloween, resident linguist Neal Whitman explored the origin of the word Halloween. Just in time for the candy and costumes, we're revisiting his questions: how and why did eve turn into e'en? For that matter, what is a hallow? Why did the all get dropped?
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Vocabulary Shout-Out
David Foster Wallace on "Sedulous" Proofreading
Via Quotenik, a growing library of rich and verified quotes
In a 1994 course syllabus, writer David Foster Wallace encouraged his students to be sedulous in their proofreading.
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Dept. of Word Lists
A "Malign Influence" in Iraq: Ten Words in the News You Need to Know
International Warnings, Domestic In-fighting, and Twitter Add Pictures
When a bipartisan group of senators calls Iran's "influence" over Iraq "malign," is that just their way of saying "bad influence" without sounding like a parent begging a teen to find new friends? Learn malign and nine other words in the news here.
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Mansplaining — a fella explaining something, unnecessarily and often incorrectly, with oodles of condescension — is as old as the hills. The word itself has been around since about 2009, but it's blossomed since, providing a potent weapon in women's arsenal against overbearing dudes.
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Dept. of Word Lists
"Caustic" "Repartee": Vocabulary from Lou Reed
A new list honors the life of a remarkable rock musician
In tribute to rock musician Lou Reed, who died this weekend, we offer a list of words pulled from his songs.
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Under the HoodThe science of vocabulary building
Unpacking Vocabulary-in-Context Questions for the SAT
And how we can help you learn to get them right
Tricky as they may be, vocabulary-in-context questions are important. They're one of the hallmarks of the Common Core, play an important role in the SAT, and more to the point, more accurately reflect the kind of nuanced mastery of language you need to do well in school. Here's how we help you get them right.
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Tasty MorselsGood stuff from Vocabulary.com
Four Stars from Common Sense Media!
Praises "uniquely customized experience"
Common Sense Media, the well-regarded independent site that reviews media for children, recently evaluated Vocabulary.com, and determined that the site's "a great learning resource" that's "fun," "easy to use," and "well designed." The review focused primarily on Vocabulary.com's appropriateness for children, concluding that it works best for kids age 13 and up. Read the full rating here.
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