Quiz: Can You Match the Victorian Slang Term to its Meaning?
Test your knowledge of Victorian slang with this quiz that’s bang up to the elephant.
Test your knowledge of Victorian slang with this quiz that’s bang up to the elephant.
One in five people give up before solving the puzzle.
When we promise to honor a commitment, it's a "rain check." And yes, it originally had something to do with the weather.
To be certified as organic, farmers can’t use prohibited synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, or hormones for three full years before applying. Further, any animals they have must be raised on organic foods.
Shakespeare is the first known citation for over a thousand words and even more meanings—but new research occasionally shows that Shakespeare actually didn't originate some phrases, a trend that will likely continue over time.
Medieval dog names ran the gamut from 'Argument' to 'Feete.'
Here's how 'Roger' came to mean "received" (and how 'wilco' fits in).
Idioms like Mandarin’s ‘take your pants off to fart’ make no sense to English speakers—at least, not English speaker who haven’t read this list.
From ‘kibosh’ to ‘niche,’ these words can trip up even the most meticulous English speakers.
‘Take it with a grain of salt’ all (probably) started with Pliny the Elder, but he was talking about literal poison.
Discover how the different generation names for Baby Boomers, Gen X, and Millennials came to be.
Here are 20 of the world's trickiest names, from ‘Sean’ to ‘Saoirse.’ (No, they’re not all Irish.)
Our 2025 word-a-day calendar covers old-timey slang terms, fascinating phrase origins, and more.
Here are 20 fun bits of Olympics slang, from diving’s ‘bingo’ to gymnastics’ ‘twisties.’
The abbreviations are widely understood as “morning” and “afternoon,” but what do the Latin translations actually mean?
In the 2000s, the internet took over, as did social media, streaming, and cell phones that were also cameras and tiny computers. The slang of this era didn’t disappoint, either: From amazeballs to mukbang and beyond, here are some terms you might not have
The origins are often more complicated (and fun) than you’d expect.
From 'giggle smoke' to 'Nixon,' these marijuana nicknames deserve a resurgence.
Whether they’re said over a PA or in a one-on-one conversation, these seemingly innocuous terms are actually codes to alert those in the know that something is up while keeping others in the dark.
Cowboys in the Old West had all kinds of colorful terms for everyday items, from eggs (‘cackleberries’) to oysters (‘saltwater vegetables’) and beyond.
A fascinating new discovery has emerged about a pamphlet found in the rafters of William Shakespeare’s childhood home.
The origins of 'with great power comes great responsibility' and the story of how it became a canon event for Spider-Man.
Here’s a rundown of some Southern slang terms that might be beneficial to keep in mind the next time you’re visiting.
English never hesitates to borrow words that would lose certain subtleties in translation, and angst, ennui, and weltschmerz have made their way into English by offering a little something extra.