Words

Naming a car is like naming a baby, only with a few hundred million dollars at stake.

The far-fetched plots were designed to keep viewers wanting more.

How did daytime dramas like “Guiding Light” and “General Hospital” become known as “soap operas”? It's all thanks to commercials.

Word is a word. Noun is a noun. Autological words are a self-centered, self-referential bunch.

More people use American Sign Language than you may think.

Cornell’s SpellRing could change the ASL translation game.

In the 19th century, 'inside baseball' only had one meaning—here's how it came to be.

We give you an obscure word with four definitions—one correct, three made up. Can you identify the correct one?

You might be familiar with a few of these.

Lots of languages have distinct plural forms for ‘you.’ Wouldn’t it be useful if English had one too? Spoiler alert: It does. Several, in fact.

You can always avoid the issue by spelling out “St. Patrick’s Day,” but here’s how to properly abbreviate it.

There is a whole slew of everyday words in English that have origins in Irish and Gaelic.

Everybody gets to be Irish after they smooch this stone.

This St. Patrick’s Day, discover the origins of this old Irish idiom and how it all ties back to the Blarney Stone in Ireland.

It’s not just women who will find these terms useful.

‘Radíidin’ means “a time allegedly a holiday but actually so much a burden because of work and preparations that it is a dreaded occasion.” ‘Thehena’ is a word for “Joy despite negative circumstances.”

How did the word for a female dog become a derogatory word for women? We explain.

We give you an obscure word with four definitions—one correct, three made up. Can you identify the correct one?

Here's a crash course on the meaning and origins of boilerplate content.

Alexander the Great (left) with his tutor, Aristotle.

The names of logical fallacies often double as common expressions—but they don't always mean the same thing.

Let's put the kibosh on pronouncing 'kibosh' incorrectly.

Test your pronunciation of toughies like 'victuals' and 'skein.'

We give you an obscure word with four definitions—one correct, three made up. Can you identify the correct one?

We get this byword for enthusiasm from an officer in the Marines named Evans Fordyce Carlson.

There are many slang terms for coffee, but where does a “cup of joe“ come from? There are a few theories.

Maligning ponies has become a go-to way to dismiss someone. How did that happen?

We give you an obscure word with four definitions—one correct, three made up. Can you identify the correct one?

Latin isn’t widely spoken in Latin America, so why is it called that?

Road signs shout less than they used to.

Road signs have changed case in the last 15 years or so—here's why.

Some words have been around longer than you think.

How Do Cars Get Their Names?

Why Is It Called a “Soap Opera”?

16 Words that Describe Themselves

This Smart Ring Translates Sign Language in Real Time

Inside ‘Inside Baseball’: How America’s Pastime Invented a Handy Metaphor

Definition Detective Quiz #30

From Y’all To Youse: 8 English Ways to Make ‘You’ Plural

St. Patty’s Day vs. St. Paddy’s Day: Which Is Correct?

6 Common Words You Might Not Know Are Irish

Where Does the Phrase ‘Gift of Gab’ Come From?

24 Words From Laádan, a Language Invented to Express a Woman’s Point of View

Why Female Dogs Are Called “B*tches”—And How the Word Became an Insult to Women

Definition Detective Quiz #29

Why Does ‘Boilerplate’ Mean “Standard”?

5 Common Terms That Double as Logical Fallacies

Can You Correctly Pronounce These Tricky Words?

Definition Detective Quiz #28

Where Did the Expression ‘Gung Ho’ Come From?

Why Is Coffee Called a “Cup of Joe”?

Why Do We Call Someone a “One-Trick Pony”?

Definition Detective Quiz #27

How Did Latin America Get Its Name?

Why Many Road Signs Are No Longer Written in All Caps

Can You Figure Out When the Word First Appeared in Print?