13 Old and Obscure Terms for the Butt
When talking about the fundament, some terms have slipped through the crack of lexical history—so please enjoy these old and enjoyable terms for the hindquarters.
2023-10-18 20:17
Why Are Some Liquors Called “Spirits”?
One theory suggests that we call liquor 'spirits' because of alcohol’s association with one spirit in particular: the Holy Spirit. But there are other theories.
2023-10-17 00:22
13 Fascinating Facts About the Oxford English Dictionary
It took more than 70 years and tons of volunteer labor to create “the definitive record of the English language”—including an assist from a murderer. Get to know the Oxford English Dictionary better.
2023-10-16 23:21
The Surprisingly Long History of the Word ‘Yo’
The word ‘yo’ was around long before Rocky movies and rap songs.
2023-10-12 23:24
A Higgledy-Piggledy Look at 12 Rare Reduplicative Words
Though these words sound like fiddle-faddle, they have specific uses that go beyond yada yada and twittle-twattle.
2023-10-12 21:55
21 Old and Odd Directional Words
The rich history of the English language is full of similar directional words that are cool but uncommon, like ‘pancakewards,’ ‘couchward,’ and ‘pocketwards.’
2023-10-11 20:22
Koalas Aren’t Bears, So Why Do People Call Them “Koala Bears”?
If you were an 18th-century settler in Australia with no knowledge of marsupials, you just might decide to call a koala a ‘bear,’ right?
2023-10-11 04:45
9 Fake Words That Ended Up in the Dictionary
Ghost words have nothing to do with otherworldly apparitions, but they’re enough to scare the headwords off lexicographers.
2023-10-06 23:52
Why Do We Say “Trick or Treat” on Halloween?
The origins of the phrase (indirectly) involve smelly cabbage, Donald Duck, and several Canadian journalists.
2023-10-06 22:24
Why Do Ghosts Say “Boo”?
If linguistics is any indicator, it would appear that everybody in the spirit realm speaks Scots English.
2023-10-06 03:54
11 Common English Words That Come From Native American Languages
‘Avocado’ comes to us from Nahuatl—and it doesn’t mean what you might think it means.
2023-10-04 04:26
How Did ‘Jones’ Come to Mean ‘Craving’?
Nowadays, we use jones to express an intense craving for something. But it used to refer specifically to drugs.
2023-09-30 04:29