Tag Archives: nonplussed

Turnabout Not Always Fair Play With Words

by Dictionary Scoop.    If “nonverbal” is the opposite of “verbal,” shouldn’t “nonchalant” be the opposite of “chalant”?    As it turns out, it’s not so simple.    “Unpaired words” are terms we assume should exist, based on standard linguistic rules, but don’t. To test your knowledge and learn more about unpaired words, guess which of …

Continue reading “Turnabout Not Always Fair Play With Words”

Five-Dollar Words At A Deep Discount

by Kevin Burton    Some lamps that my mother has and loves, I don’t like. I think they’re ugly.    For years my insult of choice was to call them “obtuse.”  But I was using that word incorrectly.    My good buddies at Merriam-Webster say obtuse means: “not pointed or acute” or “ of an …

Continue reading “Five-Dollar Words At A Deep Discount”