Vocabulary.com Blog
Articles from October, 2014
It's time once again for the latest in our series of quick tips on usage and style shared by Mignon Fogarty, better known as Grammar Girl. Here Mignon clarifies how to pluralize some nouns derived from Greek (sometimes by way of Latin).
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Word RoutesExploring the pathways of our lexicon
Spoiler Alert! Revealing the Origins of the "Spoiler"
Is there any point in remaining "spoiler-free," steering clear of any crucial plot points of movies or television shows you haven't seen yet? That's the question raised by Netflix in its new "Living with Spoilers" campaign, and it set me off on a search for the roots of the "spoiler" in my latest column for the Wall Street Journal.
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As Americans celebrate Columbus Day, it's worth reflecting on the complicated cultural and linguistic legacy that Christopher Columbus left behind. There's a single word that aptly illustrates this legacy and all of its contradictions: Indians, the mistaken name that Columbus gave to the native peoples of the Americas.
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Announcements
The Second Annual Vocab Video Contest for Students!
It's time for your 15 *seconds* of fame!
For the last five years, we've been partnering with the New York Times Learning Network on a Word of the Day feature, which runs every school day on the Learning Network's blog. Last year, just as the total was about to hit the 1,000 mark, we joined the Learning Network in sponsoring a Vocabulary Video Contest that was so fantastic, we're back with a second year of the challenge!
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Announcements
TIME Says Vocabulary.com App Will "Bulk Up" Your Brain
A fun flowchart shows how your brain can bulk up on knowledge, all through your phone
In a roundup of six apps that promise to "bulk up" your brain, TIME included Vocabulary.com for anyone looking to "become a wordsmith."
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Are you baffled by the perplexing terminology favored by American politicians and pundits? A new book by Chuck McCutcheon and David Mark is here to help. Dog Whistles, Walk-Backs, and Washington Handshakes is an informative and humorous guide to deciphering contemporary political lingo. Here we present an excerpt from the book's introduction.
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Blog Excerpts
From IRA's "Reading Today," a Vocab Success Story
English teacher Jennifer Johnston explains how she changed word learning at her school...almost overnight.
In anticipation of her school's "official jump" to the Common Core, English teacher Jennifer Johnston of Rialto High, in Rialto, CA created a dramatic new word learning program using Vocabulary.com. She was hoping for measurable improvement. What she ended up with was a dramatic change. Now, in the International Reading Association's online magazine Reading Today, Johnston explains how she made this happen.
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