LANGUAGE

Ladies riding in a car—or, if you’re using slang from the 1900s, an ‘automobubble’—circa 1901.

38 Terrific Slang Terms From the Last Century

Wastoid, wedgie, and dumpster fire, oh my! In the latest episode of The List Show, you can learn about the fun origins of some pretty wacky and absolutely real slang terms from the last hundred years.

Why Do We Use the Word ‘Mug’ as a Synonym for ‘Face’?

How a love of drinking and Britain’s 18th-century Toby jugs might have inspired the slang word for ‘face.’

The oldest members of Generation Alpha are officially teens as of 2024.

Everything You Need to Know About Generation Alpha—The Children of Millennials

Generation Alpha—the children of Millennials and the kid siblings of Generation Z—was born the same year the iPad was released.

Koala bear, mantis shrimp, maned wolf, and king cobra are all misnomers.

15 Animals With Misleading Names

With dolphins masquerading as whales, lizards as toads, and marsupials as bears, it can be tough to keep track of which animals are which.

100 Things We Learned in 2023

From record-breaking plants and incredible animal news to space superlatives and the awesome power of Taylor Swift fans, here’s the long list of things we learned in 2023.

The dialects of the two countries have been diverging.

13 Words That Differ in the North and South Korean Dialects

The two dialects have transformed to the point that North Korean defectors often struggle with unfamiliar language when arriving in South Korea—so much that the South Korean government publishes a list of commonly confused words to aid new defectors.

Disc vs. Disk: What’s the Difference?

Deciding to write 'disc' or 'disk' depends on what kind of disc it is. Sometimes.

14 Austin Slang Terms You Should Know

You may know Austin, Texas, as the Live Musical Capital of the World that’s devoted to keepin’ itself weird—but you might not be familiar with the city’s many slang terms.

Rihanna, David Bowie, and Bjork have all had their names mispronounced—frequently.

14 Musician and Band Names You've Probably Been Mispronouncing All Along

From pronouncing the name of one of the Beastie Boys to how to say “Sade” correctly, here are a few tips for your tongue.

6 Strange “Alien” Languages Created by Linguists

Exolangs are constructed languages that imagine how the languages of extraterrestrial beings might look and sound—and linguists have come up with some pretty mind-bending options.

Sploot 101: 13 Animal Slang Words Every Pet Parent Should Know

The internet has given us all kinds of delightful slang terms for what our cats and dogs do, from ‘blep’ and ‘bork’ to ‘smol’ and ‘sploot.’

What did Scrooge mean when he said “Bah! Humbug!” anyway?

What Does “Bah, Humbug!” Actually Mean?

The meaning of ‘Bah, humbug!’ is a little more layered than what people normally attribute to Ebenezer Scrooge of ‘A Christmas Carol.’

There was something for every type of reader on MentalFloss.com in 2023.

Our 25 Most Popular Stories of 2023

Once again, Mental Floss readers proved to be curious about all sorts of niche topics—and our editors and writers were happy to oblige their interests.

Whether it's tea or a great gift card, these gifts are in the bag.

10 of the Best Last-Minute Gifts That Will Make It in Time for Christmas

Discover 10 of the best last-minute gifts to give this holiday season, including MasterClass, Nuuly, Blue Apron, and more.

Where the ‘nog’ came from is a bit of a mystery.

How Did Eggnog Get Its Name?

The ‘egg’ part of ‘eggnog’ is obvious. The ‘nog’ is a little more mysterious—possibly involving noggins and/or grog.

10 Old-Timey Ways to Say You’re Hungover

Here are 10 colorful phrases of yore to use the day after you partied a tad too passionately.

Not the Same: How Creative Strife Led to the Creation of U2’s “One”

U2 was at a breaking point when “One,” which has been repeatedly named one of the greatest songs of all time, brought the band back together.

Even a pair of siblings might not really know the difference.

Eldest vs. Oldest: What’s the Difference?

We often use ‘eldest’ and ‘oldest’ interchangeably, but the words shouldn’t be swapped out so easily. Here's how to use each.

Confused as to why ‘will not’ gets shortened to ‘won’t’? Blame Old English.

Why Does ‘Will Not’ Become ‘Won’t’?

Most contractions in English are pretty straightforward. Put it together, and shorten it up. But that isn't the case for ‘will not.’

Officials emptying barrels of beer during Prohibition.

15 Words and Phrases Popularized During Prohibition

With Prohibition—which ran from January 17, 1920, to December 5, 1933—came language to describe everything from drinking establishments to the people who made booze to booze itself.

Oxford University Press Names 'Rizz' Word of the Year

Social media is changing language again.

10 Ways to Say “Merry Christmas” Around the World

’Tis the season to learn how to say “Merry Christmas” in many languages.

Cold weather words were way more colorful in days gone by.

19 Old Cold Weather Words to Get You Through Winter

There are only so many ways to say “it’s cold outside,” which is why it’s time to supplement your vocabulary with these vintage words and phrases related to winter.

What ‘Sic’ Means—And How To Use It Correctly

The literal meaning of ‘sic’ is ‘so’ or ‘thus.’ But the way writers use it is a little more nuanced.

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