Of the two parts of “doomscrolling,” the “doom” part is more interesting. Whether you call it “doomscrolling” or…
21 September
19 September
People have been asking about the “unavailable” meaning of “out of pocket” for decades, but there’s also an…
10 September
Why does “money” have a plural, and how do you spell it? “Money” has two acceptable plurals. Most…
08 September
Here’s the problem: Some American style guides recommend “gantlet” in the phrase most of us would say or…
01 May
Когда не хватает слов, чтобы культурно передать весь спектр эмоций, на помощь приходят идиомы. В русском языке их великое множество, и, как правило,…
25 April
Will it help your cabin fever to learn the origin of that term (and others)? “Fever” originally related…
22 April
The word bureaucrat, derived from bureaucracy, acquired its negative connotation at the get-go. English takes bureaucracy from French bureaucratie, “government by bureaus.” The…
21 April
Sports fans say “Seltik.” Historians say “Keltik.” Here’s the deal. My family loves basketball, and from my name,…
14 April
A listener question about a spate of misspellings led us to investigate the meaning and history of “martial…
31 March
A lot of companies that are still operating are operating with a skeleton crew these days. When you’re…