Angela Tung

Joined: Dec 11, 2012

Angela Tung is a writer in New York. Her work has appeared in The Week, Quartz, Salon, The Bellingham Review, The Frisky, and elsewhere. She also blogs about words and language at Wordnik. In her spare time, she watches entirely too much TV.

Santa goes by many different names around the world.

20 Merry Monikers for Santa and Santa-Like Figures Around the World

Go with 'goozlum' instead of 'gravy' this Thanksgiving.

11 Tasty Regional Thanksgiving Food Words

18 Spooky Halloween Phrases From Around the U.S.

17 Scary Sayings for 'Ghost' From Across the United States

These little witches look like they might be running a gum-game.

11 Delightful Old-Timey Words for Tricks

Tricks aren’t just for kids anymore—nor are trick words! Here are 11 old-timey words for pranks and capers, perfect for when you’re feeling curmudgeonly about Halloween revelers knocking on your door for treats.

You say you have better ways to call B.S.? Bottlewash!

19 Old-Timey Ways to Call B.S.

Chances are you’ve been using the B.S. word a lot lately, and might be looking to change things up. Look no further than this list of 19 delightful old-timey terms.

brazzo (dictionary page), Ajwad Creative (speech bubble) // iStock via Getty Images Plus

7 Fake Words That Ended Up in the Dictionary

Ghost words have nothing to do with otherworldly apparitions, but they’re enough to scare the headwords off lexicographers.

7 Fake Words That Ended Up in the Dictionary

Ghost words have nothing to do with otherworldly apparitions, but they’re enough to scare the headwords off lexicographers.

Photo illustration by Mental Floss. Image: iStock.

10 Words and Phrases That Came From TV Shows

Television can be a hotbed of creativity (or mediocrity, depending on who you ask). But it's not just characters and storylines writers are coming up with—they also coin words.

12 Different Ways to Say 'Doughnut' Across the U.S.

Celebrate National Doughnut Day with this regional slang for the tasty treat, brought to you by the Dictionary of Regional American English (DARE).

15 Wintry Words for Snowy Weather Across the United States

While the “Eskimos have 100 words for snow” debate remains up in the (cold, cold) air, we do know—thanks in large part to the folks at the Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE)—that Americans have no lack of idioms for the chilly white stuff.

Hear the Interviews that Helped Build the Dictionary of American Regional English

The new release of old field recordings from the Dictionary of American Regional English showcase many weird and wonderful words.

12 Regional Idioms for ‘Highway Median Strip’

From neutral ground to dividance to berm, on the roads of the U.S. there are more names for the median than you might think.

10 Pieces of Lying Lingo from Across the United States

Maligner. Fabricator. Fibber. Con artist. There are all sorts of ways you can say "liar," but in case you're running out, we’ve worked with the editors at the Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE) to come up with 10 more pieces of lying lingo to

14 Different Ways to Call 'Dibs' Across the United States

You know to say, “I’ve got dibs!” but what if someone else says, “I wackie that donut,” or “Let's go snacks on it”? You might lose out on some chocolatey goodness. Be prepared by bulking up your dibs vocabulary.

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10 Everyday Words Star Wars Gave Us

Forty years of Star Wars has given our language some useful everyday words.