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In each issue, our Vocab Lab celebrates the weird, wild, and wonderful world of words.
Tyler Maxwell used to be a typical boy. But one day, a 10-pound dictionary fell on his head. Luckily, he survived. But now Tyler can use only the biggest, hardest words there are. His friends don’t understand him. Can you help?
Lance Lekander
I was affrighted when I came upon a hulking arachnid.
Courtesy of family
Isabel Ponce
John Sells Middle School
Dublin, Ohio
Real-Life Word Nerd
Isabel wrote this issue’s Word Nerd!
Word Nerd Contest!
Write your own Word Nerd sentence. If we choose yours, you will be featured as a Real-Life Word Nerd. Send your entry to “Word Nerd Contest.” See our Contest Page for details.
Meet The Idiomizer —the superhero who turns simple words into powerful idioms. These phrases unite words, like a team, to take on a whole new meaning.
Lance Lekander
Jordy: Do you think Priya will really be surprised, Callie?
Callie: I think so, Jordy! I just hope nobody . . . um, you know . . .
Lance Lekander
This is a job for The Idiomizer!
The Idiomizer: On it, Callie! You hope nobody lets the cat out of the bag. Spills the beans. Lets it slip.
Callie: Exactly! Thanks, Idiomizer—we’ll save a piece of cake for you!
This article was originally published in the October/November 2019 issue.
In this video, we revisit some of our favorite past Word Nerd adventures and give students great tips on deciphering unfamiliar vocabulary words!
The Adventures of Word Nerd
In this video, we revisit some of our favorite past Word Nerd adventures and give students great tips on deciphering unfamiliar vocabulary words!
Debate
Ordinary people might soon be able to shoot into space. Is this a dream come true—or a disaster waiting to happen?
Nonfiction
How could an entire village of people just disappear?
Grammar Bot
Learn some flavorful facts as you practice using there, their, and they’re correctly.
Vocab Lab
In each issue, our Vocab Lab celebrates the weird, wild, and wonderful world of words.
Vocab Lab
In each issue, our Vocab Lab celebrates the weird, wild, and wonderful world of words.
Vocab Lab
In each issue, our Vocab Lab celebrates the weird, wild, and wonderful world of words.