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Part 12 - M-Mis - Markdown Text Used in formatting Reddit posts to include bold, italic, strikethrough text etc. “New Reddit” for desktop or mobile browser has a “Fancy Pants” (rich text format) Editor, where you can choose various options from icons below the text entry field, or there’s a useful list here for reference. There is a sub specifically to practice using this called r/test or you could use this incredibly useful tool at https://redditpreview.com . Another Markdown primer is here and there’s another version of the same information here . See Also: Quoting. - “May I see it?” An innocuous phrase that is not quite how it appears. Originating in The Simpsons S07E21 , this is a response often given to an absurd story in order to prompt a Steamed Hams script Comment Chain . Reddit loves this particular pop-culture reference, and saying anything in the script should start a Comment Chain or Copypasta. There’s even a Subreddit devoted to its memes at r/SteamedHams . See Also: Comment Chain, Copypasta, Puns & Pop-culture References, Snowclone. - “Maybe the real treasure was the friends we made along the way". A phrase posted when people bemoan the fact that they’ve spent a great deal of effort to find what they've been led to believe would be valuable, only to find out that the value isn't what they expected. A long-standing movie trope called the “Worthless Treasure Twist” , this meme is seriously clichéd , making it an ideal Reddit response, often prompting a Comment Chain where ‘X’ and ‘Y’ refer to whatever the post was about: Maybe the real X was the Y we made along the way The real X is always in the comments The real X was inside you all along This is just one example of many phrasal templates known as ‘Snowclones’. See Also: Comment Chain, r/everyfuckingthread , Lost For Words, Puns & Pop-culture References, Snowclone. - Memes Reddit is still the internet. Memes that are “out there” are in here too, perhaps even more so as many originated on the myriad Reddit meme subreddits. Memes are supposed to be used repeatedly. Things like Woman Yelling at Cat and Me and the Boys are only funny because of the variety of ways they're used. So, use them. Use them widely and appropriately. There are too many dedicated Meme subs of varying quality to list here, but a good start would be: r/memes with 15 million subscribers and counting. r/AdviceAnimals consisting of two-line jokes over a single-panel reusable character template r/PrequelMemes for memes of the Star Wars Prequels r/terriblefacebookmemes featuring the worst memes ever seen r/ComedyCemetery ...where jokes go to die. Stuff intended to be funny, but... isn't r/dankmemes for sarcastic expressions that have lost their comedic value or intentionally inexplicable clichés r/MemeTemplatesOfficial to post your templates or request one instead; some NSFW r/FreshMemeTemplates some NSFW r/MemeEconomy for trading new meme templates Always read the rules before commenting, posting or using the resources from an unfamiliar Subreddit. These will be found in the Sidebar (on mobile this will be the About tab, Menu tab and Community Info found in the three dot “hamburger” menu top RH corner of your screen), any Pinned posts (Search by “Hot” and the top two may have a lime green pin icon) and Wiki (where there is one). See Also: MFW; MRW, “Reactions”, TFW. - Messages See “Direct Messages”. - Meta A link or phrase posted when a comment or post increasingly becomes self-referential, for example Reddit discussing itself, a meme about memes, a conversation on the nature of conversations and so on. Meta refers to the idea of something being about itself. r/meta ; It's So Meta Even This Acronym... - MFW; MRW “My Face When” and “My Reaction When”. Often posted with a gif or image, these are Reaction Initialisms used as shorthand as an exaggeration of how you might respond to a shock or surprise. r/mrw . See Also: “Reactions”, TFW. - Misleading Subreddit Titles Not every Subreddit is as it would at first appear to be. There are many subs with misleading titles that are: strange until you get it (e.g. r/kinsaw which if you read the R it says "Arkansas") outright puns (e.g. r/Superbowl which is about owls, which we all know are superb) the result of a dated ‘in-joke’ that was funny at the time (e.g. r/anime_titties which is a serious world news sub) bizarre (e.g. r/disneyvacation which has absolutely nothing to do with r/DisneyVacations ) swapped out with other subreddits (e.g. r/trees and r/marijuanaenthusiasts ) unintentionally misleading (e.g. r/bugs which is about reporting code errors and glitches in Reddit and not insects or other minibeasts) intentionally misleading to be humorous (e.g. r/OnlyFans which is only fans) intentionally misleading to be literal (e.g. r/stormfront which isn't a neo-Nazi sub but a weather-related one) intentionally misleading to be very, very wrong (e.g. the extremely NSFL r/eyeblech ) totally absurd (e.g. r/potatosalad which is about John Cena and r/JohnCena which is about potato salad) sardonic (e.g. r/PeopleFuckingDying which is videos and GIFs of people figuratively dying) clever (e.g. r/estoration which is about photographic restoration) All have their different origin stories, sometimes in their Sidebar. There is also a whole network of former Porn subs now repurposed to be all about cats (e.g. r/GirlsWithHugePussies , r/smallpussy , r/wetpussy ). See Also: Adopting a Subreddit, Cursed Subs, Porn. Edit: Cat. More on reddit.com

There is no single best or most complete or most authoritative dictionary or dictionary website, and it's best if you don't rely on just one, because dictionaries have different purposes or philosophies and will differ in how they present senses or nuances. Also, general purpose dictionaries are aimed at native speakers, and may provide definitions that seem circular or overly complex to a learner. To that point, I recommend using OneLook , which links you directly to entries from several different dictionary websites. For learners, I recommend Oxford OALD , Macmillan , Cambridge CALD , Longman , or Merriam-Webster MWLD (especially for American usage). Collins COBUILD is also popular, but I personally don't like the way they present the material. The Cambridge Dictionary and Collins Dictionary websites can be useful because they search multiple dictionaries at once, although in my experience (including on this sub), this has served to confuse learners as much as it helps them. For general purpose dictionaries, Lexico (formerly Oxford Living Dictionaries) and Cambridge are reliable for British uses and Merriam-Webster and the American Heritage Dictionary for American uses. AHD is more linguistically conservative than MW. If you are dealing with historical texts and want something truly comprehensive, the most authoritative resource is the Oxford English Dictionary (not just any English dictionary published by Oxford, but the work known as the OED). This is a historical dictionary that attempts to catalog all meanings that all words have ever had since the dawn of the English language itself, including senses that may not have been used in hundreds of years. It is structured very, very differently from general purpose dictionaries and not intended for everyday use, but it is fascinating to read through some of the entries. More on reddit.com

I collect used dictionaries at used book shops and garage sales whenever I can find them, and I'd love to get some modern dictionaries to update the collection, but I'm afraid I'm just too much of a cheap bastard to make the investment for a Merriam-Webster's or American Heritage. For up-to-date definitions, I use the Merriam-Webster App, which is free to use and allows me to save a list of favorite words. I also have a great love for Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language, published 1755, of which I own a facsimile copy. Not for current definitions, mind you, but because his definitions are simply eloquence made manifest, and his illustrative quotations are sublimely selected. More on reddit.com

Wordnik.com, awesome site, super clean and completely ad free if you make an account. It's a nonprofit and has some interesting features like making word lists. More on reddit.com