Brain rot isn’t new – but now we’re all talking about it
Open door
How the use of a word in the Guardian has gotten some readers upset
Elisabeth Ribbans
May 2025
The big idea
The big idea: could the English language die?
For the time being it’s dominant – but as the Romans could tell you, nothing lasts for ever
April 2025
Book of the day
Enough Is Enuf by Gabe Henry review – the battle to reform English spelling
Philadelphia’s Speling Reform Asoshiashun wasn’t the only group to demand a simpler way of putting things in print
March 2025
Gigil: word for ‘cute aggression’ among new Oxford English Dictionary entries
Other foreign language additions include alamak, a cry of outrage in Singapore and Malaysia, and tapau, a Chinese word for takeaway
January 2025
Gobsmacked! by Ben Yagoda review – the British invasion of American English
After years of seemingly one-way traffic, anglicisms from ginger to kerfuffle are having their moment stateside
December 2024
Is there anything more condescending than being called ‘buddy’?
Emma Beddington
Far from being friendly, like ‘love’, ‘duck’ and ‘hen’, the term is faux-matey with an edge of covert aggression, writes Emma Beddington
November 2024
Charli xcx fans rejoice: ‘Brat’ chosen as Collins word of the year
A new definition of the word was sparked by the pop star’s summer album title, and made it a term that ‘resonated with people globally’, the dictionary says
June 2024
Book of the day
The Truth About English Grammar by Geoffrey K Pullum review – the pants rule and other pipe dreams
A breezy guide to grammar sides with the ordinary Joe against the nitpickers
September 2023
Susie Dent: ‘English has always evolved by mistake’
The queen of Countdown’s dictionary corner on the power of positive language and finding joy in ‘mubble fubbles’
The Art of Explanation by Ros Atkins review – talk like a pro
The BBC’s analysis editor shares his tips on how to communicate with clarity and confidence
Open door
How misusing words can even change their dictionary definitions
Elisabeth Ribbans
Coruscating was originally a sparkling synonym, but now we understand that it’s something more scathing
February 2023
Ancient texts shed new light on mysterious whale behaviour that ‘captured imagination’
An unusual feeding technique only recently observed by scientists was documented nearly 2,000 years ago, a study suggests
December 2022
Have some dignity, Oxford English Dictionary. No one says ‘goblin mode’
Rachel Connolly
I know its word of the year was put to a public vote, but the result smacks of a stunt trying too hard to go viral, says writer Rachel Connolly
November 2022
‘Sums up 2022’: Permacrisis chosen as Collins word of the year
Dictionary defines word as ‘extended period of instability and insecurity’, with Partygate, Kyiv and ‘warm bank’ also making list
April 2022
Putin's press
How swearing became a weapon of resistance for Ukrainians
Their enthusiastic use of bad language contrasts with Putin’s linguistic prissiness – and shows that Russia doesn’t own Russian
March 2022
How Words Get Good by Rebecca Lee review – the secret life of books
An editorial manager at Penguin tells the inside story of how an idea gets from an author’s head onto your bookshelves
January 2022
Cryptic crosswords for beginners
Crosswords for beginners: from Inspector Morse to Barbara Windsor, it’s all Latin to me
‘Insurrection’ named the American Dialect Society’s word of 2021
December 2021
Dictionary.com names allyship as word of the year for 2021
Site took unusual step of anointing a word it added just last month, though allyship first surfaced in the mid-1800s
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