Don't anyone go nucular here.

Canon - a ravine formed by a river in an area with little rainfall

This is not correct unless it is spelled cañon. Without the ~ accent, the meaning and pronunciation are very different. Entry should be removed or include the ~ mark.

dictionary.com
ca·ñon / [kan-yuhn]
noun
canyon

Isn't substituting the tilde accent with the letter 'h' an acceptable substitution? Like in piranha, for example.

Or even just spelling it canyon.

Got this one again. Doesn't it need 'at' in the phrase?

11. The quality of being a competitive disadvantage
Your answer: unfavorable position

No. There is a lot of plagiarism in the internet, and very often several inaccurate 'sources' go back to one single bad source. So, 'several sources on the web' is often meaningless.


Edited to say:

Sorry! To my surprise, I see that Collins online dictionary in fact gives narcism as an alternative to narcissism .


http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/narcism

Part of a word missing? - 'one'
11. Counsellor
Your answer: some[one] who gives advice about problems

'13 pot likker

a nation that possesses formidable naval strength
wet thoroughly
a small ring-shaped friedcake
a sculptural relief between low relief and high relief
the liquid in which vegetables or meat have be cooked
(music) the relative duration of a musical note '

I have two issues with this one. First, "likker" instead of "liquor"? When I first saw this, I thought it might be a pejorative term for Protestants that slipped through. Second, the correct answer, "the liquid in which vegetables or meat have be cooked," surely should be, "the liquid in which vegetables or meat have BEEN cooked."

"14. Place
The correct answer was instal"

"Install" is spelled with 2 "L"s, not 1.

Instal with one "l" is a (chiefly) British variant spelling, but is not incorrect.

"Pot likker" is a regional term in the southern US, and though it looks wrong, that is the accepted spelling for the cooking liquid of vegetables (most often collard greens). I've never heard it used for the cooking liquid of meat, but...

There does seem to be a typo in the definition, though.

Got this one again, too. Still an accent mark in place of a quotation mark.
10. French for `worst going'
Your answer: pis aller

Not sure if this is the right place to say, but when I submitted a word, it said, "Word succesfully submitted!"

Isn't "succesfully" missing an "s"?

Good eye, Marissa! I'd never seen that before.

Sue

12. Informal terms for a human `tooth'
Your answer: pearly

Mix of accent mark and single quotation. The source needs to be changed and/or improved.

Never bet money on these.

2. The property of copious abundance
Your answer: abound in

abound in means "exist in large quantity"

The correct answer was amplitude

Well..to be technical... I suppose "abound in" is not a property whereas "amplitude" is.

That's funny!

This is in this hour's Word Wizard:

9. A pass to a receiver upfield from the passer
answer: lateral

This isn't right. While some dictionaries are nebulous in their description of which direction the pass is going in, in American football it's very specific:
lateral
(3) Football (also lateral pass) a pass thrown either sideways or backward from the position of the passer.

If it goes upfield from the passer, it's a forward pass, not a lateral.

I was amused today to have the same word twice in a row with two different definitions:

3. Nightcap
Your answer: an alcoholic drink taken at bedtime

4. Nightcap
Your answer: the final game of a double header

I hope the system is set up so that both definitions don't show up in the same list of choices!

Whilst it's not of earth shattering importance I was just a tad aggrieved at a Word Wizard entry that went against me this afternoon, as follows:

................................................
5. Compensate
Your answer: offset

offset means "a compensating equivalent"

The correct answer was "get even".
...............................................

It seems slightly unreasonable to have these two alternatives available for selection, as either of them could arguably be correct.

LOL! I can actually see why your answer was incorrect in a "definitive" way, but even so I had to laugh, after all .. "don't get mad, get even" is rarely a statement regarded as conciliatory. Don't you love the game though? It reflects all the weird nuances of the English language : )

Agreed Jakeroo, the added problem I have with WW, although I'm addicted to the game, is that the English language I've lived with all my life on this side of The Pond does not include many of the American variations.

yes, I have the same "problem" and I'm much closer to the US than you are. Every day my life is inundated by American spellings of words (not helped at all by the fact that I can't change my "work" default to Canadian English in Microsoft Office without contacting an IT Help(less) person . I plan to start a protest LOL

I fear any protest may fall on deaf ears as this first-rate site owes its origin to [and is based in] the USA.

However, perhaps a peaceful sit-in on the WW steps may do the trick! ;)LOL

-------------------------------------------------

"Don't be afraid your life will end; be afraid that it will never begin!"

The variety is part of the fun, in my opinion! I think the game is fine as is. Remember that slang varies even across a country, so many Americans won't know a lot of the so-called US slang and the same for any country.

Moonraker2,
The first step to a common understood language is to speak it to each other and find where the differences are. So, with that in mind and to wile away the hours during the sit in, may I ask what your definition of 'is' is? A lot depends on it. Some of our Rhodes Scholars on this side of the ocean can't seem to agree on that one.

Mehaul ... surely it is one of the requisites of a politician to impart ambiguous statements when being questioned?

Although, perhaps Mr Clinton was being particularly astute when offering his definition of the word!?

As suggested I will contemplate my interpretation during the sit in!
____________________________________________________

"Don't be afraid your life will end; be afraid that it will never begin!"

Not really a content issue, but has anyone else ever noticed that it says "Word 'succesfully' submitted" when submitting a word? The dictionary right below would have an issue with that

"white-out" vs. "white out".....


There was a question on Word Wizard that presented the word "white-out". The correct answer was purported to be "widen the interlinear spacing by inserting leads".

I didn't get the question because I was unaware of this definition. However, more to the point, I checked this on the Free Dictionary Online, and it gives that defintion for "white out" without the hyphen, but not for "white-out" with the hyphen. I think this is a notable distinction.