Words

'Dictionary of the English Language,' published in 1755, remained the foremost dictionary of British English until the early 1900s when the very first installments of the Oxford English Dictionary began to appear.

The more time you spend on Wikipedia, the better you'll be at Redactle.

Games like Wordle are a dime a dozen these days—but Redactle is a special stumper.

The story of the OED’s most prolific contributor, a sex-addicted murderer who lived in an insane asylum.

Some of Webster's suggested reforms caught on and still mark a difference between American and British writing. But you won't beleev how many of his reforms went nowhere.

Noah Webster—who was born on October 16, 1758—compiled America’s most influential dictionary, Americanized our English, essentially founded the publishing industry, and was a pioneer in epidemiology. Here's what you should know about Webster.

You didn't learn this in geography class.

There’s quite a lot of ‘s**t’ in the South, and ‘hell’ looms large over the Dakotas.

The casual use of “squaw“ has long concerned Native Americans, who have often fought to have it recognized as a slur.

Don't be a zob—try using one of the 40 zazzy Z-words listed here.

Become a yarn-chopper, even if people accuse you of being prone to yaw-yaw.

Why say “Trick or treat!” this Halloween when you could shout “Trick or junkery!” instead?

Only about 0.02 percent of the words in a dictionary start with the letter 'X.' Here are 40 of those rarities.

Making up words is a common internet pastime, but James Joyce was way ahead of the curve in this area. Discover 13 of the most fascinating words coined by the famed Irish author.

"Magnifying glass" is actually two words.

In this episode ofThe List Show, Mental Floss editor-in-chief Erin McCarthy shares the meaning of 50 words you’ll be happy to know.

Whether you're writative or just trying to be a linguistic wheel-horse, these words are for you.

You might know someone who qualifies as a bananenbieger.

One translates to "asparagus Tarzan." Another means "bag of whale blubber." In fact, some of these are so amusing you might not even mind being insulted.

These little witches look like they might be running a gum-game.

Tricks aren’t just for kids anymore—nor are trick words! Here are 11 old-timey words for pranks and capers, perfect for when you’re feeling curmudgeonly about Halloween revelers knocking on your door for treats.

You just know which one Goldilocks is going for.

Deciding when to use an em dash instead of some other punctuation mark is largely up to you—except in situations that call for an en dash or hyphen.

A list to please even the most vinerous among us.

Try to fit all six of these terms in a single sentence.

What does ‘yeet’ mean, anyway? Merriam-Webster now has a formal answer.

These words will make you jump for joy, no matter what happy situation you're in.

Why doesn’t English have a word for when you sneak a taste of food when you think no one’s watching?

You say you have better ways to call B.S.? Bottlewash!

Chances are you’ve been using the B.S. word a lot lately, and might be looking to change things up. Look no further than this list of 19 delightful old-timey terms.