ETYMOLOGY

Where Do the Words “Mom” and “Dad” Come From?

Even the Oxford English Dictionary admits they have no evidence of the actual origin.

Where Did the Phrase “Dressed to the Nines” Come From?

Whatever significance the number nine had to the phrase, it doesn’t seem to have always been specific to clothing.

7 Antiquated Illness Names and Their Meanings

Throughout the ages, people have hung some pretty weird names on what’s ailed them. Here are the monikers of a few of the more strangely-named illnesses, and how we know them today.

Why is a Fake Doctor Called a Quack?

Quack, in the sense of a medical impostor, is a shortening of the old Dutch quacksalver (spelled kwakzalver in the modern Dutch), which originally meant a person who cures with home remedies, and then came to mean one using false cures or knowledge.

Where Did the Phrase "Caught Red Handed" Come From?

Why Did "The Ukraine" Become Just "Ukraine"?

Until a few decades ago, Ukraine was almost always referred to as the Ukraine. Then people started dropping the definite article, and now you almost never see it. What gives?

Where Did the Phrase "Smart Alec" Come From?

Daven Hiskey runs the wildly popular interesting fact website Today I Found Out. To subscribe to his “Daily Knowledge” newsletter, click

Where Did the Term "Booze" Come From?

Daven Hiskey runs the wildly popular interesting fact website Today I Found Out. To subscribe to his “Daily Knowledge” newsletter, click

Why Does "XOXO" Mean "Kisses and Hugs"?

Whether you end a letter or e-mail with it—or you recognize it from the end of each Gossip Girl episode—“Xoxo” is commonly known to refer to the phrase “Kisses and hugs.” But how did these two inconspicuous letters come to represent that well-known

What is a Pigeonhole?

“What exactly is a pigeonhole anyway?" semi-creepy fast food mascot Jack in the Box wondered on Twitter last month. "Last I checked pigeons live in parks.” Reader @amyh914 put up the bat signal and called us into

Why Are Potatoes Called Spuds?

Daven Hiskey runs the wildly popular interesting fact website Today I Found Out. To subscribe to his "Daily Knowledge" newsletter, click

Why Do We Say “Pardon My French” When We Curse?

My dad always used to preface the dropping of an F-bomb or a tangent of creative profanity with a request that listeners “pardon his French.”

Why Is Abruptly Quitting Something Called "Going Cold Turkey"?

Around this time of year, we’re all loosening our belts and getting ready to gorge ourselves on hot, gravy-laden turkey. So we couldn’t help but wonder about things at the opposite end of the temperature spectrum: the “cold turkey” invoked when people up

What's the Origin of 'Let the Cat Out of the Bag'?

There are two popularly cited origins for the phrase "let the cat out of the bag," but neither is very clearly recorded as leading to it.

Why Are There Different Names for the Same Country?

Reader Jonathan wrote in to ask, “Why do we call other countries by names that they do not use themselves? Where did these names come from and why do we use them?"

What Do Chickens Have to Do With Chicken Pox?

The birds themselves? Not a whole lot. Chickens don’t even get infected by the virus — varicella zoster, a member of the herpes family — that causes the rash.

What is an Adam's Apple?

Adam's apple photo via ShutterstockTouch your fingers to the front of your throat and start humming. Feel around until you can feel vibration directly under your fingers. That’s your larynx, or voice box. It houses your vocal cords and is involved in brea

What Is Point Blank Range?

Point-blank is the range at which a given weapon/ammunition combination can be fired at the center or vital area of a given target and hit it without the shooter having to adjust the elevation of the weapon to account for the effect of gravity on the proj

The Meaning of the Word "Moot" is Moot

The adjective "moot" means "open to debate." Yes, really. This is a dramatic difference from its common usage (at least in America), which basically means "not worth debating." A famous example comes from Rick Springfield's lyrics in "Jessie's Girl":

Where Did the Term "Pink Slip" Originate?

The Short Answer: No one knows, but the search has been interesting.The Long Answer: Getting a pink slip usually means you're fired.

What's So Special About the Cat's Pajamas?

Yesterday reader Nyghtbeauty asked, "What’s so special about 'the cat’s pajamas'?" We decided to find

The Man Who Conlanged "Dothraki" for HBO's "Game of Thrones"

David J. Peterson is one of many conlangers: people who invent languages. His most recent work is the Dothraki tongue shown in HBO's "Game of Thrones"; the spoken language had to be invented for TV because it's rendered in English in the "Song of Ice an

The Bodacious Letter B

Always a bridesmaid and never a bride, B is the also-ran, the second best, the afterthought, the sidekick to the alphaletter A. When things fall apart, we go to Plan B; we’ll watch B-movies with B-list actors on basic cable if we can’t fall asleep; we’ll

A Brief History of the Absolutely Amazing "A"

Most modern alphabets start with the letter “A,” or a near equivalent. It was also first in line in the ancient Greek and Phoenician—from which the Modern English alphabet is ultimately descended—alphabets, too. Being the gateway to the other letters and

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