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Mental Floss

LANGUAGE

'Clatterfart' and 'twattle-basket' are way more entertaining than 'chatterbox.'

15 Words for Gossips and Chatterboxes

We all know someone who never seems to stop talking. They’re a yammerer, a babbler, a chatterbox—but they’re also a blatherskite, a clatterfart, and a twattle-basket.

Paul Anthony Jones

A lorry by any other name would carry as much cargo.

Why Are Trucks Called “Lorries” in the UK?

It wasn’t inspired by a beast of burden named Laurie, if that’s what you assumed.

Ellen Gutoskey

The word wasn't originally 'pea.'

11 Words That Started Out As Spelling Mistakes

Language is a continual process of evolution, but these words—from pea to sherry—changed thanks to outright mistakes.

Paul Anthony Jones



What does the word 'the' mean, anyway?

What Does "The" Mean?

It’s the most frequent word in the English language, accounting for around 4 percent of all the words we write or speak. But what the word 'the' means is surprisingly complicated.

Arika Okrent


You can run fast, and you can hold fast.

40 Words and Phrases That Are Their Own Opposites

You're about to stumble into the looking-glass world of contronyms—words that are their own antonyms.

Judith Herman


Some countries aren't messing around when it comes to baby names.

37 Outlawed Baby Names From Around the World

IKEA is beloved around the world, but there’s at least one place where it’s illegal to name your baby after the furniture store: Its home country of Sweden.

Michele Debczak


Olivia, Olivia, Olivia.

The Most Popular Baby Names in Each State

Whether you live in Alabama or Washington, your baby girl Olivia is probably going to meet a bunch of other Olivias.

Ellen Gutoskey
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