Tag Archives: words

Words: mixed up meanings

Posted on March 3, 2009 by robertstevenson

English has got to be one of the toughest languages to learn. Even our exceptions to the rules have exceptions. Here are some of my recent mental meanderings on mixed up meanings. Confusing homophones 1.                  This bimonthly publication comes out … Continue reading →

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Eight Interesting Words

Posted on February 12, 2009 by robertstevenson

 How many words are in your vocabulary? The average high school graduate is said to know about 10,000 words. The average 4-year college graduate is said to know about 20,000 words. Do you have room for any more words in … Continue reading →

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Superfluous pleonasms

Posted on October 21, 2008 by robertstevenson

Today is a good day because I get to use two of my favorite words in the same post. These words aren’t important in and of themselves; I just like the way they sound. They are pleonasm and superfluous.  I … Continue reading →

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Pun intended

Posted on September 8, 2008 by robertstevenson

Just a little pun with words.   Acoustic: Instrument used in billiards.   Aversion: One side of a disputed story.   Bacteria: The rear portion of a cafeteria.   Bigamist: Fog in Italy.   Commentator: Undistinguished potato.   Debate: What … Continue reading →

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Word Power (deep links post)

Posted on August 28, 2008 by robertstevenson

When you stop and think about it, words are pretty darn important. They are symbols for our ideas which we code into a form that others can understand. With differences in language, culture, experiences, and education, it is a wonder … Continue reading →

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Thirteen interesting words

Posted on August 21, 2008 by robertstevenson

Thirteen Interesting Words  How many words are in your vocabulary? The average high school graduate is said to know about 10,000 words. The average 4-year college graduate is said to know about 20,000 words. Do you have room for any more … Continue reading →

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Wacky words

Posted on August 7, 2008 by robertstevenson

Check out these wacky words   The only countries in the world with one syllable in their names are Chad, France, Greece, and Spain. “Four” is the only number whose number of letters in the name equals the number.  “Asthma” … Continue reading →

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Twelve Interesting Words

Posted on July 31, 2008 by robertstevenson

Twelve Interesting Words  How many words are in your vocabulary? The average high school graduate is said to know about 10,000 words. The average 4-year college graduate is said to know about 20,000 words. Do you have room for any more … Continue reading →

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English language genercide: the power of popular usage.

Posted on July 7, 2008 by robertstevenson

In one of my first posts titled Evolving Language, we saw that with over 600,000 words, English contains more words than any language in human history. That posts explored how the English language acquires new words. This post adds another … Continue reading →

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Eleven Interesting Words

Posted on June 30, 2008 by robertstevenson

 How many words are in your vocabulary? The average high school graduate is said to know about 10,000 words. The average 4-year college graduate is said to know about 20,000 words. Do you have room for any more words in … Continue reading →

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Random Facts 8: the wonder of words

Posted on April 25, 2008 by robertstevenson

According to Illinois state law, it is illegal to speak English. The officially recognized language is “American.” Widow is the only female form in the English language that is shorter than its corresponding male term (widower). Victor Hugo’s Les Miserable … Continue reading →

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Odd words: Floccinaucinihilipilification (once longest word)

Posted on April 7, 2008 by robertstevenson

FLOCCINAUCINIHILIPILIFICATION/flɒksɪˌnɔːsɪˌnɪhɪlɪˌpɪlɪfɪˌkeɪʃn/ The action or habit of judging something to be worthless. Back in the eighteenth century, Eton College had a grammar book which listed a set of words from Latin which all meant “of little or no value”. In order, … Continue reading →

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Odd words: Epeolatry

Posted on April 6, 2008 by robertstevenson

EPEOLATRY The worship of words. Though an appropriate term for this forum, it hasn’t achieved any great success in the world at large. It’s not even especially old, since its first known user, and presumably its creator, was Oliver Wendell … Continue reading →

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