9 Innocent-Sounding Words with Surprisingly Naughty Origins
These everyday words look and sound perfectly innocent, but they actually have questionable origins.
These everyday words look and sound perfectly innocent, but they actually have questionable origins.
One missing letter led to the Ministry of Defence accidentally hiring a seaweed expert instead of a codebreaker. Turns out that's just what they needed.
Kosuke Takahashi wants to change the way braille appears in public spaces.
Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language was published 263 years ago this month.
Human migration played a big role. Here are the reasons why there are so many different languages around the world.
Welcome to the United States of Amerigo!
The elusive art of poetry isn’t so hard to master if you know how to set the stage.
Celebrate today's International Day of Happiness with these old-school words and phrases.
An incredible number of lines from William Shakespeare's plays have become so ingrained in modern vernacular that we no longer recognize them as lines from plays at all.
"It's a perfectly cromulent word."
Once upon a time, the "gh" did stand for a specific sound—one we don’t have in English today.
Why doesn't English have a word for the joy of watching bad weather from the confines of a warm house?
Ethical integrity has more to do with language than you'd think.
If you were never quite sure how to pronounce the name of beloved French kitchenware brand Le Creuset, don't fret: For the longest time, southern chef, author, and PBS personality Vivian Howard wasn't sure either.
For history buffs and word nerds, "you jerk" just doesn't have the same ring as "you unlicked cub" and these other 18th-century insults.
The mysterious text has stumped codebreakers for decades.
It's one of 42 documented examples of whistling languages across the world.
It's how Swedes live a more balanced life.
These parts of your brain do the most heavy lifting.
Contrary to his well-known slogan “speak softly and carry a big stick,” Theodore Roosevelt was hardly one to speak softly.
How to not sabotage your own apology.
Some of these ancient etymologies might not be quite what you expect.
Nueva Qwerty makes language a little simpler.
It’s a matter of language.