WORDS

English conveniently offers a long list of nouns you can use to describe what kind of enjoyer you are: aficionado, enthusiast, buff, connoisseur, fanatic, fan, freak, nut. But they aren't all just interchangeable synonyms. Each carries connotations that y

In the U.S., pudding has a relatively small life, nutritionally and lexically. But when you look back at jolly old England, this seemingly one-dimensional word has lived a vibrant life in metaphors and idioms.

Some languages lack what we might consider the most fundamental words—yet somehow manage to get by without them.

These imaginative regional idioms for heavy rain go way beyond cats and dogs.

Since the introduction of the first working steam locomotive in Great Britain over 200 years ago, trains have been a great influence on Western culture, whether in the world of books, music, or the movies. The language of the railroad has also infused the

The concept of cowardice is an old one, and there are many now-obscure words for, as Yosemite Sam might put it, lowdown yellow-bellies.

No one likes to get bamboozled, but the words for getting duped are creative and vivid.

Here's what the key grip, best boy, and gaffer actually do, plus the origins of those titles.

Did you know it used to be cloud seven instead of cloud nine? Here are six other everyday phrases that used to be very different.

We experience the world through our senses, so it makes sense that our language should reflect those senses. This group of words traces back to the basic elements of taste: sour, bitter, sweet, and salty.

You probably know a handful of medical terms—but what about Code Brown? Or incarceritis?