dictionaries : NPR

A Phrase For Our Time: Merriam-Webster Adds 'Dumpster Fire' To Dictionary

A dumpster fire. Renee Klahr/NPR hide caption

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Renee Klahr/NPR

The Two-Way

A Phrase For Our Time: Merriam-Webster Adds 'Dumpster Fire' To Dictionary

March 5, 2018 • Editor Peter Sokolowski predicts the phrase is here to stay. "It's been used so broadly in the last two to three years ... that people in the future will have to know what it meant."

Go Forth And Pwn For Shizzle, Word List Guardians Tell Scrabble Players

Collins has published a new edition of its official Scrabble words, including lotsa, tuneage, and ridic. Dennis Wilkinson/Flickr hide caption

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Dennis Wilkinson/Flickr

The Two-Way

Go Forth And Pwn For Shizzle, Word List Guardians Tell Scrabble Players

May 21, 2015 • Also on the list of 6,500 new Scrabble words: aji (the pepper), coqui (the frog) and the more old-fashioned ixnay and zowee. Or you could just say yeesh — if you've got the right tiles.

For Dyslexics, A Font And A Dictionary That Are Meant To Help

Graphic designer Christian Boer's Dyslexie font is being featured at the Istanbul Design Biennial. Dyslexie hide caption

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Dyslexie

The Two-Way

For Dyslexics, A Font And A Dictionary That Are Meant To Help

November 11, 2014 • A designer who has dyslexia has created a font to avoid confusion and add clarity. And two English researchers are making a dictionary that favors meaning over the alphabet.

'Yooper' Blooper: Dictionary Misspells New Entry

If you need to know how to pronounce the term "yooper," this version of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary might not be the best guide. Mark Lennihan/AP hide caption

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Mark Lennihan/AP

The Two-Way

'Yooper' Blooper: Dictionary Misspells New Entry

May 20, 2014 • Merriam-Webster has added 150 words to its Collegiate Dictionary, but it forgot to include the "p" in its pronunciation guide to "Yooper" — a term describing people from Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

'Twerk' Sashays Into Oxford's Online Dictionary, 'Srsly'

Singers Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke during Sunday night's MTV Video Music Awards in New York. Her twerking raised many eyebrows. Lucas Jackson /Reuters/Landov hide caption

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Lucas Jackson /Reuters/Landov

The Two-Way

'Twerk' Sashays Into Oxford's Online Dictionary, 'Srsly'

August 28, 2013 • The dance move that many older folks first heard about this week thanks to Miley Cyrus is now officially defined. Seriously. (Or "srsly," another addition to the online dictionary.)