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Açaí berries are delicious. They're also hard to pronounce.

The Right Way to Pronounce Açaí

Açaí, a popular superfood, can be easy for people to mispronounce. Here's a hint: It's definitely not "ack."

What’s the Difference Between a Fact and a Factoid?

A factoid isn’t just a fun fact—at least, it wasn’t when Norman Mailer allegedly coined the term in 1973.

The Unappetizing Origins of 'The Proof Is in the Pudding'

It started centuries ago, when puddings contained spices, cereal, and potentially putrid minced meat.

They're debating whether it should be "the 'rona" or "Zoom."

The American Dialect Society Needs Your Help Choosing 2020’s Word of the Year

It doesn’t have to be in the dictionary—in fact, it doesn’t even have to be a word. Phrases, slang, and even hashtags are all fair game.

What Is a Scuttlebutt, and Why Do We Like to Hear It?

When you ask someone for the scuttlebutt, you're using a very old nautical term to solicit potentially specious gossip.

Get Early Access to Black Friday Savings On Rosetta Stone

Get the award-winning language learning app with two others in this discounted bundle for a limited time.

Watch Jeopardy! Host Alex Trebek Swear Up a Storm In These R-Rated Outtakes

Alex Trebek was known for his polite persona, but following his death, some hilarious outtakes have emerged that show the 'Jeopardy!' host cursing up a storm.

The Afternoon Meal (La Merienda) by Luis Meléndez, circa 1772

11 Wonderful Old Words for Lunch

In the 17th and 18th centuries, there were as many words for lunch as there were varieties of it. Below is a lexicon of some of these splendid words.

Where Did the Term Lame Duck Originate?

Lame duck presidents date back to the beginning of U.S. history, but we didn’t start calling them that until the 20th century.

She wrote "sneak peak" instead of "sneak peek."

12 Notable English Language Mistakes

‘Irregardless’ is technically a word, and ‘dord’ technically isn’t (though it has shown up in a few old dictionaries).

Use these words for feelings you can't express in your own language.

10 Untranslatable Words That Perfectly Describe How You're Feeling in 2020

The intense emotions we’re all experiencing right now can often feel inexpressible, beyond words. But words in another language than your own just might be the key to giving voice to those emotions.

Wa wa wee wa! Sacha Baron Cohen is back in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2020).

Wa Wa Wee Wa: The Origin of Borat's Favorite Catchphrase

The pervasive slang term was everywhere following the 2006 release of 'Borat.' But it isn't made up.

Filtration Software Censored the Word Bone at a Paleontology Conference

'Bone,' 'crack,' and 'pubis' were on the list of words censored by the chat software at this year's virtual Society of Vertebrate Paleontology conference.

Profane Polly: Expletive-Spewing Parrots Have Been Removed From an England Zoo

Five African grey parrots have been put in solitary bird confinement after they failed to control their excessive swearing tirades, including telling visitors to "f*ck off."

Classrooms are especially important places to embrace language variations.

Duolingo’s Free Virtual Convention Will Cover How “Black Languages Matter” and More

The designer of the infamously persistent Duolingo owl will also be on hand to answer questions about his creation.

Online dictionaries can add words a little more quickly than their printed counterparts.

More Than 650 New Words Have Been Added to Dictionary.com—Here Are 50 of Them

With a total of about 15,000 new words, definitions, and other revisions, it’s Dictionary.com’s biggest update of all time.

Absentee Ballot vs. Mail-In Ballot: What’s the Difference?

States are changing their vote-by-mail rules for this year’s general election. Here's what you need to know.

Jakoś to Będzie: Poland's Anti-Hygge Approach to Happiness

The next time you feel hopeless, say "jakoś to będzie"—a Polish phrase that translates to "things will work out in the end."

Do Your Bowels Suddenly Spring to Life in Bookstores? You’re Not Alone—and the Japanese Even Have a Term for It: Mariko Aoki

In the ’80s, Mariko Aoki wrote to a magazine about her strange habit of having to poop in bookstores. Now, she’s the namesake for the condition.

These words will bring a smile to your face.

The 10 Happiest Finnish Words, According to the People of Finland

To celebrate the launch of their new Finnish course, Duolingo partnered with the website Very Finnish Problems to find out which words make the people of Finland happiest.

Scots Wikipedia Is Notoriously Inaccurate Thanks to One Teenage Editor

Scots Wikipedia is notorious for its inaccuracy, and a recent Reddit post traces thousands of mistranslations back to a single teenage editor in the U.S.

Anarchist Émile Chapelier teaches Esperanto to the members of his Libertarian commune.

Universal Soldiers: The Individuals Keeping the Esperanto Language Dream Alive

The universal language never quite changed the world, but enthusiasts and Duolingo users are doing their bit to change that.

The Surprising Stories Behind 12 Classic Pop Songs

Bonnie Tyler was singing about lovestruck vampires long before Twilight’s Bella and Edward came along.

Who Was Jim Crow?

The name "Jim Crow" appears throughout many U.S. history books, but he was a caricature—not a real person.

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