Vocabulary.com Blog
Articles from January, 2015
On the surface, and/or seems like a helpful but mostly harmless little phrase — a little ugly, perhaps, but still useful for those times when you want to be extra clear about what all the options are. Most people associate the phrase with legal writing, but it turns out that a surprising number of lawyers and judges hate it, claiming that it's actually unclear and thus impossible to interpret.
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Blog Excerpts
The Story Behind Stuart Scott's "Booyah!"
ESPN sportscaster Stuart Scott died of cancer over the weekend, and tributes to him have noted his ebullient use of slang, especially his signature word, "Booyah!" For Slate's Lexicon Valley blog, our own Ben Zimmer traces the origins of "Booyah!" back to a hip-hop imitation of gunfire. Read all about it here.
Tasty MorselsGood stuff from Vocabulary.com
Can You Change Your Life With a Single Word?
Are there words that hold power over you?
What's one of the fastest ways to dramatically alter your life, save your marriage, improve your golf game, bring about world peace, or finally start remembering to change the oil in your car? Deleting one all important word from your vocabulary.
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It's never easy picking a Euphemism of the Year. For 2014, it feels like a four-horse race—or should I say a four-pronged equine competition. My picks for EOTY are a Gwyneth Paltrow special and three other mounds of mumbo-jumbo. Read them and weep for clear, honest, non-sneaky language.
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