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Having studied languages, linguistics
and computing, Dom Glennon now works as a systems developer
for Cambridge Dictionaries. Each month, he calculates and comments
on the top 20 most viewed entries on Cambridge Dictionaries Online.
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Not since the events of September 2001 has our Top 20 so closely reflected world affairs. The appearance of jingoism, defy, awe, hegemony and veto is surely related to the war in Iraq.
Perhaps surprisingly, the new no. 1, perdition, owes its popularity to a movie, The Road To Perdition, which received the award for cinematography at last month's Oscars. Although given its definition, it is perhaps not entirely unrelated...
Perhaps most poignant in these troubled times is the collapse of love, slipping down to the bottom spot. February seems a long time ago, doesn't it?
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Dom's wordsite of the month: Collective nouns
Let's think about something else: animals. Specifically, some of the wonderful terms given to collections of animals: a sleuth of bears, a destruction of cats, a piteousness of doves, an implausibility of gnus, a bloat of hippopotami, an exaltation of larks...
Feel better? Check out the full list here.
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