Starting this year, Scripps National Spelling Bee contestants not only have to spell words correctly. A controversial new rule means they’ll have to answer vocabulary questions, too. Also, when it comes to reading text, do you prefer...
Whether it’s bytes of data or intergalactic distances, humans are accumulating ever more massive amounts of data. But how do we use language to describe such mind-bogglingly huge numbers? There’s mega, as in mega-millions, and giga, as...
chatter n.— «The Scientific Games Corporation, which dominates the scratch-off market and counts states like Texas and Massachusetts as clients, advises lottery managers to increase jackpots to lure players.…“But like any ‘tool,’ an...
pussycat n.— «In contrast to many cancers, only certain prostate tumors require treatment. Many are slow-growing and pose little threat to health. But separating the “tigers” from the “pussycats”—as oncologists dub...
buncomize v.— «To “buncomize” is to “talk bunkum,” and no one does this with a better vocabulary than pseudoscientists, who lace their hokum narratives with scientistic jargon.» —“Bunkum!” by...
lopomo n.— « An increasing amount of electricity is used by equipment that is neither fully “on” nor fully “off.” We call these equipment states low power modes, or “lopomos.” “Standby” and “sleep” are the most familiar lopomos, but some...