LANGUAGE

Definition Detective Quiz #18

We give you an obscure word with four definitions—one correct, three made up. Can you identify the correct one?

Why Do We Call It an “Allen Wrench”?

The six-sided tool helped make IKEA a household name. But did anyone named Allen have anything to do with it?

The Top 10 Most Mispronounced Terms of 2024, According to TV Captioners

Here are 2024's trickiest terms to say, half of which are famous names.

15 Regional Words for Wintry Weather

Americans have no lack of idioms for snow and other features of winter weather. Here are 15 regional terms you should know.

Definition Detective Quiz #17

We give you an obscure word with four definitions—one correct, three made up. Can you identify the correct one?

Brain rot can be a consequence of too much TikTok.

‘Brain Rot’ Is the Word of 2024, According to Oxford

The phrase for being terminally online is not flattering, but it is Oxford’s Word of the Year.

13 Old-Timey Turkey Terms to Bring Back This Thanksgiving

Use them while you're talking turkey.

Fences have a little something to do with it.

Where Does the Phrase ‘Beyond the Pale’ Come From?

To get to the answer, we need to discuss Latin, wooden stakes, Catherine the Great, and, of course, Shakespeare.

7 Words We Rarely (or Never) Use Without Their Prefixes

Solving the etymological mysteries of 'innocent,' 'disgruntled,' and other prefix-dependent words.

The meaning behind “phony“ has to do with fake jewelry.

Why Does ’Phony’ Mean Fake?

The origins of the term come from the Irish word for “ring.”

The Caduceus: The Mistaken Meaning of the Medical Symbol

This ancient symbol, also called the Staff of Hermes, depicts two snakes intertwining around a stick that is capped by wings. It’s used as a medical logo, but for almost all its roughly 5000-year history, the caduceus had nothing to do with medicine.

All of these Dubliners are judging your accent.

People in the Northern UK and Ireland Can Flag Your Fake Accent

A new study finds that residents of Dublin, Belfast, and Glasgow were better at detecting fake accents than their counterparts in southern areas of England—possibly as a result of long-ago conflicts.

Definition Detective Quiz #15

We give you an obscure word with four definitions—one correct, three made up. Can you identify the correct one?

Can You Match the Word to the Author Who Created It?

See if you can spot the laudable lexicography of these famous writers.

Where Does the Term ‘Willy-Nilly’ Come From?

It’s a compressing of an earlier phrase that also yielded variations like ‘nilling, willing’ and ‘william-nilliam.’

50 Verbose Verbs To Drop Into Everyday Conversation

If you’re grandiloquent, then you like to use extravagant, high-flown words—precisely like the 50 verbs listed here, which either refer to everyday activities or else can be used in place of everyday words.