A2Z News · Daily Digest

May 24, 2026

6 stories · ~2 min read

Today's briefing: a few timeless things worth knowing about words, language, AI, and puzzles. (Archive edition.)

Language & Words

The Oxford English Dictionary tracks 600,000+ words

It adds hundreds of new words a year -- from 'doomscrolling' to 'touch grass' -- a living record of how we speak.

AI & Tech

What 'prompt engineering' actually means

It is the craft of writing clear, effective instructions for an AI model -- and it became common enough that major dictionaries now list it as a word.

Word Games

Anagrams have delighted word lovers for centuries

Rearranging the letters of a word or name into a new one was a favorite pastime long before mobile word games.

Language & Words

English is a world-class word collector

From 'ketchup' to 'safari' to 'pajamas,' English has borrowed words from hundreds of languages around the globe.

Puzzles & Games

Sudoku's modern boom started in Japan

Built on a 1979 US puzzle called Number Place, sudoku was popularized in Japan in the 1980s before sweeping the globe.

Offbeat & Fun

Some words are their own opposites

'Cleave' can mean to split apart or to cling together; such words are called contronyms, or 'Janus words.'

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