All In a Word
Flappers said 鈥榖aloney!鈥� to the idea that slang was for menHave you heard the phrases聽the cat鈥檚 pajamas聽or聽the bee鈥檚 knees? Flappers, bent on enjoying social freedoms obtained by聽suffragists, coined them both.
Tips on how to become a 鈥榲iz.鈥� whizThese abbreviations聽are 鈥渇requently confused even by the most conscientious writers,鈥� according to Merriam-Webster. Here鈥檚 how to stop mixing them up.
As language evolves, names changeThe football team in the U.S. capital recently gained a very literal name: Washington Football Team. It鈥檚 a placeholder for a more offensive moniker.
The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe reclaims its languageBy the beginning of the 20th century, there were no living fluent speakers of聽W么pan芒ak. But today, a language program in Cape Cod is changing that.
Go ... Nimrods? The odd origins of team names.Many people identify strongly with sports teams. What do the names of their favorites suggest about the teams, the games, and the faithful fans?
Almost everyone feels like an 鈥榠mpostor鈥� at timesIf a majority of us feel like frauds at least some of the time, is it really a 鈥渟yndrome鈥�? Or is it a normal, if uncomfortable, part of being human?
Union or Rebel soldier, they agreed on slangSome of the words and idioms聽that developed during the Civil War聽are still common聽in English, while others have gone聽AWOL.
Choosing agreeable verbs for collective nounsNouns and verbs must 鈥渁gree鈥� in English. But the difference between 鈥渇ormal鈥� and 鈥渘otional鈥� agreement is a contentious topic.
A bosom friend is someone to lean onIn recent decades,聽bosom buddy聽has seen a large increase in popularity. Boon companion, another term for 鈥渃lose friend,鈥� did not fare as well.
You can have many 鈥榝riends,鈥� but 鈥榗hums鈥� are rareToday you can 鈥渇riend鈥� people with the touch of a key on Facebook. But etymologically speaking, 鈥渇riendship鈥� is much more intense.
Slipping into a subjunctive moodThe subjunctive form is one of the trickiest parts of English to get right 鈥� and of course聽Beyonc茅鈥檚聽鈥淚f I Were a Boy鈥� nails it perfectly.
Fictional characters gave their names to words tooBlurb,聽zany, and pants are all eponymous聽words with origins in the names of fictional characters 鈥� and there鈥檚 plenty more to be found.
People who lent their names to wordsThe most famous example of an eponymous word is probably聽sandwich. But there are many others that go unnoticed in daily conversation.
The subtle sexism behind words such as 鈥榝eisty鈥�At first glance,聽feisty聽seems like a compliment. But it鈥檚聽an adjective that subtly undermines even while it ostensibly praises.
Who is Jehoshaphat and why is he jumping?Where does the expression 鈥渏umpin鈥� Jehoshaphat!鈥� come from? It has its origins in the 19th century, but the details are somewhat fuzzy.
The longest word in the English languageIt might seem like an easy task to name the longest English word 鈥� just look it up in the dictionary. But in practice, experts disagree.
A slogan whose ambiguity serves a purposeThe fact that the slogan 鈥淒efund the police鈥� needs explanation is a plus because it serves as a quick, catchy way into a larger, more complex story.
Consonants that went to wrack and ruinWrite, wrong, wrist, wrath聽鈥� these are among the oldest words in English. But they鈥檙e very different than they were in聽Anglo-Saxon English.
A vote for the word 鈥榮uffragist,鈥� not 鈥榮uffragette鈥�Most women who campaigned for the right to vote preferred the gender-neutral term, 鈥渟uffragist.鈥� So why does the diminutive 鈥渟uffragette鈥� persist?聽聽
Are horses 鈥榬earing to go鈥� or 鈥榬aring to go鈥�?I鈥檓 raring to go. Or am I rearing to go instead? Which one is correct? This is a nerve-racking question, or perhaps a nerve-wracking one.