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"Spinster" wasn't always a criticism. Here's the story of how this term evolved from a label for a person who spun wool and thread for a living to an unfortunate, single, older woman.

While the days of forcing left-handed children to use their right hands are mostly over, the bias against lefties continues in most languages around the world.

The "GPT" in ChatGPT stands for "generative pre-trained transformer"—three words that contain the keys to understanding how generative AI works.

Breaking down the origins of the name you’ll hear during this year’s Winter Olympics.

Words

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From death spiral to twizzle, you might not be familiar with these figure skating terms. Brush up on your sports jargon this Winter Olympics.

A journey through ancient calendars, astrology, and timeless traditions.

Learn what the idiom means, where it started, when to use it, and how to tell if your ducks are in a row.

Regency era society papers transformed drawing room whispers into widely read public news, similar to 'Bridgerton's' all-knowing Lady Whistledown.

The Gen Z slang term "touch grass" might have a deeper meaning.

How fast can you name all 26 words in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet? This quiz will put your knowledge and speed to the test.

From “dude” to “legit,” these terms and sayings date back much farther than you might realize.

There’s a two-part history to the origins of why we call pants a “pair” when it’s only one item of clothing. We explore the interesting background here.

Grammar

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We’re giving you permission to disobey your stodgy old high school English teacher.

Is it bald faced lie, or bold faced lie? Coming down the pike? Or pipe? Coleslaw, or cold slaw?

You know this rule, even if you don’t know you know it.

Slang

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From YOLO to bae, these ten slang terms ruled the 2010s. A decade later, they’ve already fallen out of style.

Names

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The Seattle-based team is heading to the Super Bowl this weekend, so let’s look at the team’s history—specifically, where the name came from.

Where did the “Patriots” come from, and why does the team represent an entire region? We have your answers on the New England team name’s history here.

Winter weather means you might end up driving behind a snowplow that's clearing the highway, or you're keeping an eye out for the local plow to come down your s

You’ll need to look back to Ancient Roman history to learn how the modern-day months got their names—and what they were called before.

Best of Language

It can be shocking to realize that we are able to follow rules that no one ever taught us explicitly.

English, the language of Shakespeare and the internet, is often touted for its flexibility and adaptability. But with great flexibility comes great inconsistenc

You're going to be astonished how many of these you hopefully already know, but I'm sharing them because many millions of people don't. It's not Aw-ree, for instance, it's ah-wry (awry)

We’re taking Strunk and White and grammarians everywhere to task in the latest episode of The List Show.

Spelling

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From the Vatican’s “Lesus” medal to Beanie Babies to the Civil War coins that declare “shoot him on the spoot.”

English spelling can be frustrating and confusing, but there are things you can do to help make the task of getting it right more manageable.

Would you recoil in terror if spell-check ever stopped working? Fear not: You're in good company.

Pronunciation

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Americans have a tough time figuring out how to correctly pronounce these words, from ‘açai’ to ‘tzatziki’ and beyond.

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