Words

Bureaucratic red tape is a tale as old as time. Or, to be a little more precise, roughly 400 years old.

It would be hard to fit the world's longest place name onto this small sign.

At 85 letters, New Zealand's Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatah is the world's longest place name.

What does branding or spanking have to do with whether something is factory-new or not? We investigate.

Kindergarten survived some early controversy to become part of the American education system.

This very German word became embedded in the American vernacular—but not before German politicians tried to ban kindergarten entirely.

A 19th-century illustration of immigrants arriving at Ellis Island. Or are they emigrants?

Understanding the difference between ‘immigrate’ and ‘emigrate’ requires a fun little dive into the world of Latin prefixes.

A cartoon depicting Irish rent boycotts from December 1880.

When Charles Boycott tried to evict struggling Irish farmers during a famine, they ran him right out of Ireland.

Apple AirTags will help you keep track of your stuff, but they won’t help you convey how funny you find the word ‘boob.’

Notable southpaw Tommy John pitching for the New York Yankees in the 1980s.

Southpaws are most often talked about in baseball and boxing. But which sport (if either) coined the term?

The origins of phrases aren’t always very clear, but this one is—and it all started with carnival barkers.

Being called a 'guest' of a retail business is not really grammatically correct.

Step into a Target or Walgreens and you might be labeled a 'guest.' The practice probably started for a very Goofy reason.

Are you from the Land of Queen Henrietta Maria or mountainous Montana?

‘Idaho’ is often said to mean "gem of the mountains," but the guy who suggested it might’ve just made it up.

True tea comes from leaves of the 'Camellia sinensis' plant. All other beverages commonly labeled 'tea' are technically tisane.

D.C. judges have strong feelings about typefaces.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has a vendetta against Garamond, which is purportedly too small to read and allows lawyers to skirt filing rules.

A promising young restaurateur, ready to be called a restauranteur for the rest of her career.

If you’ve been spelling ‘restaurateur’ with an ‘n’ for your entire life, don't feel bad. But here’s why you’re wrong.

This metaphor doesn't mean what you think it means.

Anyone exceeding established boundaries of business, art, or safety is said to be 'pushing the envelope.' Why?

'Bridgerton' fans can create their own scandalous gossip column with these customizable Lady Whistledown's Society Papers on Etsy.

“Cut to the chase” is a slightly friendlier way of telling someone to get to the point, but old Hollywood filmmakers meant it literally.

Empathy’s definition originally described the relationship between humans and objects. Now, it’s much less straightforward.

The viral 'if I had four eggs' riddle may seem like a straightforward problem, but you'll need more than math skills to solve it.

Sometimes the dreadful things we must suffer can seem a little less grim when they have the sweet ring, nay—the dulcet tones of euphonious polysyllabic Latin appellations.