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The Good Word

Epic Win

Goodbye, schadenfreude; hello, fail.

Christopher Beam | THE GOOD WORD | Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2008, at 11:55 AM

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Diagramming Sarah

Can Palin's sentences stand up to a grammarian?

Kitty Florey | THE GOOD WORD | Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2008, at 7:07 PM

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What Kind of Accent Does Sarah Palin Have?

Wasillan, actually.

Jesse Sheidlower | THE GOOD WORD | Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2008, at 1:30 PM

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Speechwriter for a Day

The best antimetabole submissions from Slate's reader contest.

Juliet Lapidos | THE GOOD WORD | Friday, Sept. 12, 2008, at 1:41 PM

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The Hottest Rhetorical Device of Campaign '08

Ask not what antimetabole can do for you—ask what you can do for antimetabole.

Juliet Lapidos | THE GOOD WORD | Friday, Sept. 12, 2008, at 1:41 PM

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A History of Pimping

What the word meant and what it means now.

Jesse Sheidlower | THE GOOD WORD | Monday, Feb. 11, 2008, at 8:02 PM

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3:10 to Yuma in Cuba

How a Western changed the way Cubans speak.

Brett Sokol | THE GOOD WORD | Monday, Oct. 8, 2007, at 12:21 PM

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So Many Exclamation Points!

A new style guide says we should pepper our e-mails with them. Really?

Jacob Rubin | THE GOOD WORD | Thursday, Aug. 30, 2007, at 2:56 PM

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You Go, Companion!

What to call Paul Wolfowitz's special lady friend.

Ben Yagoda | THE GOOD WORD | Friday, April 20, 2007, at 7:14 AM

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Pardon the Interjection

The Internet and the rise of awwa, meh, feh, and heh.

Ben Yagoda | THE GOOD WORD | Friday, Feb. 16, 2007, at 12:38 PM

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Keeping Up With the Smoneses

Are American newlyweds blending their last names?

Ben Zimmer | THE GOOD WORD | Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2006, at 1:15 PM

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Suck It Up

A defense of the much-maligned word.

Seth Stevenson | THE GOOD WORD | Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2006, at 6:44 AM

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You Need To Read This

How need to vanquished have to, must, and should.

Ben Yagoda | THE GOOD WORD | Monday, July 17, 2006, at 6:28 AM

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Revenge of the Language Nerds

Beleaguered linguists find witty champions in Far From the Madding Gerund.

Robert Lane Greene | THE GOOD WORD | Thursday, July 13, 2006, at 11:53 AM

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Is Concept a Verb?

How to get a word into the dictionary.

Jesse Sheidlower | THE GOOD WORD | Friday, May 12, 2006, at 1:26 PM

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Where Do "Baby-Daddies" Come From?

The origins of the phrase.

Julia Turner | THE GOOD WORD | Sunday, May 7, 2006, at 4:47 PM

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Word Count

Are there really 988,968 words in the English language?

Jesse Sheidlower | THE GOOD WORD | Monday, April 10, 2006, at 2:16 PM

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The Dirty Word in 43 Down

A New York Times crossword gaffe.

Jesse Sheidlower | THE GOOD WORD | Thursday, April 6, 2006, at 12:25 PM

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How Does the Pentagon Say "Body Bag"?

Hint: It's not "transfer tube."

Ben Zimmer | THE GOOD WORD | Tuesday, April 4, 2006, at 5:48 PM

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The Word We Love To Hate

Literally.

Jesse Sheidlower | THE GOOD WORD | Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2005, at 6:56 AM

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Like a Hurricane

Journalists struggle to describe Jeanne's mighty winds.

Sam Eifling | THE GOOD WORD | Monday, Sept. 27, 2004, at 5:33 PM

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The Words of War

Where do MOUTs and MOPPs come from?

Andy Bowers | THE GOOD WORD | Friday, April 4, 2003, at 5:33 PM

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Who Gets To Be "Solomonic"?

Bruce Feiler | THE GOOD WORD | Monday, Aug. 27, 2001, at 11:30 PM

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The "R" Word

How do you avoid saying "retarded"?

John Cook | THE GOOD WORD | Thursday, July 5, 2001, at 11:30 PM

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Feelin' Groovy

Can anybody say it with a straight face?

Cullen Murphy | THE GOOD WORD | Thursday, Feb. 11, 1999, at 3:30 AM

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The Good Word

Goodbye, schadenfreude; hello, fail.

Can Palin's sentences stand up to a grammarian?

Wasillan, actually.

The best antimetabole submissions from Slate's reader contest.

Ask not what antimetabole can do for you—ask what you can do for antimetabole.

What the word meant and what it means now.

How a Western changed the way Cubans speak.

A new style guide says we should pepper our e-mails with them. Really?

What to call Paul Wolfowitz's special lady friend.

The Internet and the rise of awwa, meh, feh, and heh.

Are American newlyweds blending their last names?

A defense of the much-maligned word.

How need to vanquished have to, must, and should.

Beleaguered linguists find witty champions in Far From the Madding Gerund.

How to get a word into the dictionary.

The origins of the phrase.

Are there really 988,968 words in the English language?

A New York Times crossword gaffe.

Hint: It's not "transfer tube."

Literally.

Journalists struggle to describe Jeanne's mighty winds.

Where do MOUTs and MOPPs come from?

How do you avoid saying "retarded"?

Can anybody say it with a straight face?

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