The 10 Most-Searched Slang Terms in 2024
Are all these new slang terms confusing you? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
Are all these new slang terms confusing you? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
From phrasal verbs to loanwords, here's how English speakers repeat themselves without realizing it.
Here are some highlights from Merriam-Webster’s latest slate of additions.
We give you an obscure word with four definitions—one correct, three made up. Can you identify the correct one?
The first jack-o'-lanterns were made with turnips, not pumpkins.
From ‘skeletons in the closet’ to ‘graveyard shift,’ here’s how five eerie idioms came to be.
‘Bookworm,’ which now implies someone is well-read, once meant that you were a total loser.
From polite offers to emphatic exclamations, English speakers have cleverly twisted negative expressions to mean something rather different.
Making a beeline for the buffet table? You’re buying into some bee stereotypes.
The meaning behind the money.
There's a fancy term for forgetting a word—'lethologica.'
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.
There’s a historical reason, but there may be a social one as well.
Code-switching goes beyond language—here's what it means and why it happens.
This list of linguistics terms will teach you how to tell your spoonerisms from your mondegreens.
Our 2025 word-a-day calendar covers old-timey slang terms, fascinating phrase origins, and more.
Some languages capitalize several of their pronouns. Some don’t capitalize any of them. English just capitalizes ‘I’—but why?
‘Codebreaking: A Practical Guide’ can teach a beginner how to break into codebreaking (and an expert how to up their game).
From “Milk Drinkers Turn to Powder” to “Indian Ocean Talks,” these funny news headlines will make you say, “Wait, what?”
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.
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.
Dropping that ‘t’ sound is an example of what linguists call glottalization, or replacing a sound with a pause in the vocal cords.
What is a placebo? Technically, a Latin phrase meaning ‘I will please.’ It’s also a Catholic prayer and a clever insult.
Nowadays, we use jones to express an intense craving for something. But it used to refer specifically to drugs.