LANGUAGE

Can You Spot All 12 Old-Timey Terms in Our Thanksgiving Word Search?

‘Jipper’ is hidden somewhere in this letter grid—and you’ll probably find some at Thanksgiving dinner, too.

Don't call her a singer—call her a canary.

32 Legit Words from the ‘Hepcats Jive Talk Dictionary’

Some of these swellelegant slang terms are still around—and some of them have fallen out of fashion.

13 St. Louis Slang Terms You Should Know

From purposeful mispronunciations and secret shorthand to one very oddball question, these are the slang terms you should know before setting foot in the STL.

How the Word ‘Vanilla’ Came to Mean ‘Boring’

Today, the word ‘vanilla’ conjures images of blandness. The history of vanilla, though, is quite the opposite.

This person has as many faces as a churchyard clock!

15 Old Words for the Duplicitous That We Should Bring Back

Consider reviving these words the next time you encounter anyone twistical.

11 Words and Phrases You Didn’t Know Had Opposites

Some words and phrases have clear opposite forms, but they’re so rare or unfamiliar that they tend to remain forgotten. Here are a few examples.

18 Spooky Halloween Phrases From Around the U.S.

Is a jack-o'-lantern a 'poke of moonshine' to you? Use these terms from regions around the United States to confuse and delight your fellow trick or treaters.

10 Old Words For Winter Ailments

Winter is coming—and if the bad weather catches up with you, you might find these words indispensable.

What Does ‘White Elephant’ Mean? 10 American Phrases That Baffle the Rest of the World

Call someone a couch potato outside the U.S. and you might be met with a blank stare.

The Rivals Who Cracked the Code of Ancient Egypt’s Hieroglyphs

Following the discovery of the Rosetta Stone, two scholars battled each other to decipher the mysterious Egyptian writing system.

Webster's An American Dictionary of the English Language.

10 Facts About Webster’s Dictionary

Noah Webster’s two-volume 'An American Dictionary of the English Language' earned him a place in linguistic history, and a reputation as the foremost lexicographer of American English.

10 Facts About Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary

'Dictionary of the English Language,' published in 1755, remained the foremost dictionary of British English until the early 1900s when the very first installments of the Oxford English Dictionary began to appear.

The Murderer Who Helped Make the Oxford English Dictionary

The story of the OED’s most prolific contributor, a sex-addicted murderer who lived in an insane asylum.

26 of Noah Webster’s Spelling Changes That Didn’t Catch On

Some of Webster's suggested reforms caught on and still mark a difference between American and British writing. But you won't beleev how many of his reforms went nowhere.

9 Definitive Facts About Noah Webster

Noah Webster—who was born on October 16, 1758—compiled America’s most influential dictionary, Americanized our English, essentially founded the publishing industry, and was a pioneer in epidemiology. Here's what you should know about Webster.

You didn't learn this in geography class.

Each U.S. State’s Favorite Swear Word (and Who Swears the Most)

There’s quite a lot of ‘s**t’ in the South, and ‘hell’ looms large over the Dakotas.

A Reviled Native American Slur Has Been Removed From More Than 600 Federal Sites

The casual use of “squaw“ has long concerned Native Americans, who have often fought to have it recognized as a slur.

40 Zesty Z-Words To Add To Your Vocabulary

Don't be a zob—try using one of the 40 zazzy Z-words listed here.

A Royal Marine battles seasickness in an illustration from 'Army and Navy Drolleries' by Captain Seccombe, circa 1876.

The Cloudy Origins of the Phrase ‘Under the Weather’

The modern meaning of ‘under the weather’ involves feeling physically sick. But it wasn’t always so.

40 Useful Y-Words To Add To Your Vocabulary

Become a yarn-chopper, even if people accuse you of being prone to yaw-yaw.

10 Old-Timey Terms for ‘Treat’ to Try Out This Halloween

Why say “Trick or treat!” this Halloween when you could shout “Trick or junkery!” instead?

40 Words That Start With X

Only about 0.02 percent of the words in a dictionary start with the letter 'X.' Here are 40 of those rarities.

13 Words Coined by James Joyce

Making up words is a common internet pastime, but James Joyce was way ahead of the curve in this area. Discover 13 of the most fascinating words coined by the famed Irish author.

"Magnifying glass" is actually two words.

50 Strange Words You’ll Want to Start Using

In this episode ofThe List Show, Mental Floss editor-in-chief Erin McCarthy shares the meaning of 50 words you’ll be happy to know.

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