LANGUAGE

“Blown to smithereens” is such a great, colorful phrase. Almost everyone knows exactly what you mean, without being able to define what exactly a smithereen is. What the heck are they?

Some of the biggest and most lasting changes to language happen slowly and imperceptibly—but these days, it's possible to spot subtle linguistic changes by analyzing large digital collections of text.

These passages from old English textbooks aren't wrong—but they don't sound quite right, either.

So you think you have the fortitude to learn Klingon? Let's find out.

If you're a kid learning how to write, English spelling can seem like a cruel prank.

In the 1950s and 60s, the U.S. Army conducted training exercises using an imaginary enemy named, quite simply, Aggressor. The soldiers assigned to play the part of Aggressor troops had to speak a different language: Esperanto, the language of peace.

Taboos against what we would consider pretty mild exclamations led swearers of years past to come up with creative substitutions, and they've left their mark on our vocabulary.

A Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles is a wonderful place to search or browse through the wordy history of our neighbors to the North.

We know that infant chickens are called chicks and baby ducks are called ducklings—but how should we refer to the newborn offspring of animals that don’t often get cooed over in their early developmental stages?

'Formication' may sound sexy, but it actually means "an abnormal sensation as of ants creeping over the skin."

There are three answers: A heck of a lot, not that many, and a whole heck of a lot. Or, if you want specifics: 5, 2, and at least 99.

The pro-Oxford comma faction is more vocal and numerous in the U.S., while in the UK, anti-Oxford comma reigns. The two main rationales for choosing one style over the other are clarity and economy. Each side has invoked both rationales in its favor.