In honor of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, we’re highlighting some of the masterful word choices that exemplify music’s most language-loving genre.

🎤 Again, respect, I come correct
The rhymes I select are nothing short of perfect
Vernacular's pure and I can ensure
Life or death with my breath, my voice is a cure

Kool Moe Dee, “How Ya Like Me Now” (How Ya Like Me Now, 1987, Jive Records)

✏️ The word vernacular is often used to refer to a distinct form of a given language used by a certain group or that is specific to a particular place. Vernacular indicates that the language being used has unique qualities that set it apart from all of other forms of the language.

Tune in to tomorrow’s Synonym of the Day for a perfect word choice from a track by Lauryn Hill.

In the meantime, learn why word love is the beating heart of hip-hop:

✅ A vacation is a period of time in which you’re not going to work or school, often in order to rest, relax, or travel (I’m really looking forward to my summer vacation).

✅ A sabbatical is a period of time in which you’re on leave from work for rest, research, or learning new things (I went on sabbatical to learn a new language).

✅ Vacation generally suggests a period of time spent resting and relaxing and can be a short or longer period (I’m taking a few days’ vacation). Sabbatical generally suggests a longer period of time, spent doing things that will improve your performance at work (My professor took a sabbatical this semester).

✅ Impress means to affect someone’s feelings or influence their opinion on you (She impressed us as a hard worker).

✅ Buffalo means to impress with a display of power or to intimidate someone (I can’t be buffaloed by shows of wealth).

✅ Impress can refer to influencing someone in a variety of ways (Their talent impressed us into funding the team for another year), whereas buffalo usually refers to influencing someone through intimidation and is more informal (I was buffaloed into backing out of the fight).