LINGUISTICS

The Not-So-Nice Origins of ‘Bookworm’

‘Bookworm,’ which now implies someone is well-read, once meant that you were a total loser.

These things are pretty weird when you think about them.

Positively Negative: 5 Surprising Ways We Say “No” Without Really Meaning It

From polite offers to emphatic exclamations, English speakers have cleverly twisted negative expressions to mean something rather different.

Why Do We Say “Make a Beeline”?

Making a beeline for the buffet table? You’re buying into some bee stereotypes.

Why Do We Say “Cold, Hard Cash”?

The meaning behind the money.

What’s the Word for When You Can’t Remember a Word?

There's a fancy term for forgetting a word—'lethologica.'

The words ‘galaxy’ and ‘lactose’ have a surprising connection.

Linguistic Siblings: 14 Pairs of Words With Surprisingly Shared Etymologies

The connections between words aren’t always as straightforward as the link between ‘run’ and ‘runner’; often, figuring them out requires the subtle unraveling of linguistic evolution, the kind of detective work that makes etymology so fascinating.

Everyone here is someone's late someone.

Why Does ‘Late’ Mean “Dead”?

There’s a historical reason, but there may be a social one as well.

What Is Code-Switching—And Why Do We Do It?

Code-switching goes beyond language—here's what it means and why it happens.

Spoilers for this article without context.

15 Fascinating Linguistics Terms You Didn’t Learn in School

This list of linguistics terms will teach you how to tell your spoonerisms from your mondegreens.

Jazz Up Your Vocabulary With Mental Floss’s 2025 Word Nerd Desk Calendar

Our 2025 word-a-day calendar covers old-timey slang terms, fascinating phrase origins, and more.

Why Do We Capitalize ‘I’?

Some languages capitalize several of their pronouns. Some don’t capitalize any of them. English just capitalizes ‘I’—but why?

This background isn't a real cipher (as far as we know).

5 Beginner’s Codebreaking Tips From ‘Codebreaking: A Practical Guide’

‘Codebreaking: A Practical Guide’ can teach a beginner how to break into codebreaking (and an expert how to up their game).

Crash Blossoms: 17 Funny News Headlines That Make No Sense

From “Milk Drinkers Turn to Powder” to “Indian Ocean Talks,” these funny news headlines will make you say, “Wait, what?”

Why Is ‘February’ Spelled So Strangely?

Why is February spelled the way it is? Delve into the linguistic evolution of the month’s name and its journey from Latin to modern English.

Why Don’t We Want to ‘Open a Can of Worms’?

Opening a can of worms, metaphorically speaking, is trying to solve a problem and ending up in more trouble. And the idiom really does refer to actual worms.

T-Glottalization: The Reason Some People Drop Their ‘T’s When Speaking

Dropping that ‘t’ sound is an example of what linguists call glottalization, or replacing a sound with a pause in the vocal cords.

Use of the word ‘placebo’ in a medical context is more recent than you might think.

Why Is It Called the “Placebo Effect”?

What is a placebo? Technically, a Latin phrase meaning ‘I will please.’ It’s also a Catholic prayer and a clever insult.

How Did ‘Jones’ Come to Mean ‘Craving’?

Nowadays, we use jones to express an intense craving for something. But it used to refer specifically to drugs.

Speech Bubble: How Scientists Working in Antarctica Inadvertently Developed a New Accent

A 2019 study of scientists over-wintering in Antarctica revealed subtle but measurable changes in the participants’ speech.

What Is Vocal Fry?

Vocal fry describes a specific sound quality caused by the movement of the vocal folds—and it’s nothing new.

Is it possible to put a kiss into words?

How to Write the Sound of a Kiss

In English we have a few different ways to write the sound of a kiss: muah, smack, xxx. They get the idea across, but none of them imitate the actual sound of a kiss.

Use these handy tips to get pronouns right.

Why It Can be Hard to Get Pronouns Right, According to Linguistics

A pronoun slip can be embarrassing, especially if you pride yourself on being generally good at using the language people have asked you to use. Why do pronoun slips happen, and why do we seem to mess up pronouns more than names or other gendered words?

These linguistic illusions will hurt your brain.

5 Linguistic Illusions That Will Make You Go “Wait, What?”

Linguistic illusions—a phenomenon in which your judgment or understanding of a sentence or phrase conflicts with its actual meaning or structure—reveal how we process the world, and remind us that things aren’t always as they seem.

Have You Been Misled by ‘Misles’? The Linguistics Behind These Commonly Mispronounced Words

Learning how to pronounce ‘biopic’ is one thing. Understanding why it’s such a commonly mispronounced word is another.