All In a Word
Have you tried 鈥榞ongoozling鈥� and other hobbies?Many hobbies 鈥� from gongoozling to scutelliphily聽鈥� have odd names. But there's also a linguistic reasoning behind them.
A 鈥榟obby鈥� wasn鈥檛 always considered a good thingIn the 19th century, as middle-class leisure time increased, it became fashionable to pursue activities that would have previously seemed frivolous.聽
How 鈥榞aslighting鈥� became a common accusationInstead of two people discussing where their perceptions of reality might differ, accusations of "gaslighting"聽shut down the conversation entirely.
How tongue twisters delight word lovers across the globeAccording to Guinness World Records, the most challenging English tongue twister is 鈥淭he sixth sick sheikh鈥檚 sixth sheep鈥檚 sick.鈥�
How the 鈥榖ootstrap鈥� idiom became a cultural idealWhat's in a phrase? How "pulling yourself up by your bootstraps"聽went from describing聽an absurd, impossible feat聽to an American ideal.
The explosive origin of 鈥榟oist by one鈥檚 own petard鈥�Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been 鈥渉oist on his own petard." But what, exactly, does that phrase mean?
Explaining the 鈥榬oyal order鈥� of adjective placementIt's a 鈥渂ig black dog鈥� and not a 鈥渂lack big dog" 鈥� but why? Parsing the聽grammar that native English speakers know, but don鈥檛 know we know.
Curbing our use of the 鈥榝undamentalist鈥� labelThe word's connotations can lead to the dismissal of certain ideologies, closing off the chance to dig into understanding why people might hold them.
What makes 鈥榮tatue鈥� and 鈥榮tatute鈥� so alike?These words are indeed similar 鈥� and swapping the the word聽statue for聽statute聽would not have been an error in the Middle Ages.
Democrats prize 鈥榚quity,鈥� GOP prefers 鈥榚quality'As Democrats promote 'equity,' Republicans decry it as a mutation of 'equality.' But can both words 鈥� and parties 鈥� have the common good in mind?
How monks and typesetters caused weird spellingsIn her new book, 鈥淗ighly Irregular," linguist Arika Okrent dives into English's hard questions 鈥� like why "tough,"聽"through" and "dough" don't rhyme.
The history of 鈥榗ompetition鈥� won鈥檛 cooperateIt's possible to argue the roots of 'competition' imply some sort of cooperation. But the word's history is all about defeating an opponent.
Like puzzles? Try searching for 鈥榢angaroo words.鈥�There is no etymological聽basis behind 'kangaroo words' 鈥� words with letters that, rearranged, can create synonyms to the host word. But they're fun.
The more productive side of 鈥榩rocrastination鈥�Procrastination can be a bad thing. But Latin also has another word, otium, for doing things that聽enrich one鈥檚 life but don鈥檛 further one鈥檚 career.
Did JFK really call himself a doughnut? It鈥檚 a great story.Embarazada聽means pregnant, not embarrassed. A Berliner聽is a man 鈥� and a pastry. And how did we get the name for the聽Yucat谩n Peninsula? We don't know.
鈥楾ranslation fails鈥� thrive on the webThe internet collects mistranslations found on T-shirts, menus, and instructions for tourists around the world. But there's beauty in those failures.
As English evolves, so too does the word 鈥榤aster鈥�Some Americans are uncomfortable with a word that, despite its long history, conjures images of plantation slavery. Others object to the objections.
Obstreperous: A jovial word with an ominous back storyIt's a learned, yet folksy, way to describe someone as unruly or troublesome. Its roots are innocuous, but it was also used to describe slaves.
A clear definition of 鈥榮alad鈥� is not easily tossed offThe first English recipe for a salad, from 1425, directs the chef to assemble 14 vegetables and herbs. How did that evolve to fruit salad, or tuna?
鈥楰indergarten鈥� survived the ban on German wordsKindergarten signifies both a garden for children, where they can play, and also a garden of children, where they can grow and develop.
