game

In the Midwest, the dandelions have already gone to seed, their fluff floating across the areas where a week earlier the flowers stood tall and bright and yellow, like lions with perfectly arranged manes. Dandy lions. Are there traces of lion or dandy in the dandelion’s name? Yes and no.

In the early 1900s, Anna Jarvis campaigned to make Mother’s Day an official holiday because she wanted to honor her mother after she had passed away and thought others should honor their mothers, present or passed. Anna’s mother, Ann Jarvis, founded Mothers’ Day Work Clubs that focused on sanitation. Anna’s petition was finally successful in 1914 when President Woodrow Wilson made Mother’s Day a national holiday.

Cinco de Mayo (the fifth of May) is not Mexico’s independence day, which is celebrated in September, but it is a celebration of freedom. It is a Mexican and Mexican-American celebration honoring the Mexican victory over the French at Puebla in 1862. Today, it has widened into a celebration of Mexican culture. Cinco de Mayo celebrations often include family and food, music and dancing, and the colors of the Mexican flag (green, white, and red). 

Have you properly marveled at how many words of Shakespeare (whose birthday we celebrated this week) are now a part of your everyday English? It’s not just household words that the Bard contributed; he also coined a number of common phrases.

It has and, at this writing, continues to be a tough week in the United States: bombs, chemical explosions, flooding, death, severe injuries, manhunt, evacuation, lockdown. Take a break from the news coverage for a quick doublets word game that goes from a state of frustration and hostility to what the world needs now.

Use the first clue to find the first four-letter word. For the remaining words (also four letters each), find the word that fits the clue and can be created by changing only one letter of the previous word.

What do you do when warm weather peeks in, excites your hopes, but refuses to stay? Find out in five steps.

Use the clue to complete the word or phrase; the last part of each word or phrase is the first part of the next.

[spring] [_ _ _ _ _]     vernal-induced restlessness

[_ _ _ _ _] [_ _ _ _ _]     pinnacle of excitement

[_ _ _ _ _]-[_ _ _ _ _ _ _]     exactly right tone or style

The Australian slang word match seems to be a popular doovalacky with my editor cobbers, so here’s one for your  St. Paddy’s Day festivities. (Yes, that’s Paddy, not Patty.)

There are certain Fridays when you’re just in the mood to play an unsophisticated round of good ol’ typo spotting. And hope that Muphry’s Law doesn’t catch you.

1. via Marcin Wichary

Thanks to all the participants who unscrambled the grammar terms in our National Grammar Day contest! If you didn’t get a chance to play, check out The AnaGrammar Game before you look at the answers below. You also won’t want to miss our Grammar Day subscription deal, which comes with a bonus gift.

If you’re looking for our National Grammar Day contest (entries due by midnight PST tomorrow, Saturday, March 2), it’s here: The AnaGrammar Game.

If you’re looking for a little Sudoku fun that’s free from all those pesky numbers, you’re in the right place!

Every row, column, and 3x3 box must contain the following letters exactly once: