Latest articles by Arika Okrent
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The 11 best new words added to Oxford dictionaries
feature From "al desko" to "tomoz"...
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The true origin story of the football huddle
feature It was actually first invented by deaf players
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5 boring subjects translated into clickbait headlines
feature "You NEED to see this hot model (NSFW) of ethnic politics and foreign policy"
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Don't use 'pants' for 'pantaloons': 19 surprising rules copy editors used to enforce
feature Newspapers often enshrine the pet peeves of one man... from the 19th century
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4 surprising things Facebook has learned from your relationship status
feature For starters: Breaking up is less hard to do during summer
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Why are 'ghost,' 'ghastly,' and ' ghoul' spelled with 'gh'?
feature It's a really strange way for an English word to start
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10 old-fashioned swears to spice up your cussin'
feature People just don't swear like they used to
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15 words plagued by unusual silent letters
feature Damn you, tricky consonant clusters
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11 amazing facts about the Iditarod
feature There's even a Jamaican dog sled team
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Why does 'terrible' mean bad and 'terrific' mean good?
feature These crossover words often require a bit of ironic slang in order to evolve
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How to write the sound of a kiss
feature Muah!
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Learn Klingon in 6 steps
feature It's the only honorable thing to do
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What is the most complex Chinese character?
feature Biáng. And it's made up of 57 strokes
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15 awesome 19th-century street gang names
feature Do not mess with the Plug Uglies or Dead Rabbits
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Why is Y sometimes a vowel?
feature In "yes," Y is representing a consonant, and in "gym" it is representing a vowel
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Where did the phrase 'come out of the closet' come from?
feature This expression for revealing one's homosexuality may seem natural. But it's actually a relatively new thing.
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26 of Noah Webster's spelling changes that didn't catch on
feature Really, shouldn't machine be spelled "masheen"?
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11 nouns that only have a plural form
feature We never talk about a singular scissor...
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Was the sign-language interpreter at the Mandela memorial faking it?
feature The interpreter on stage with Obama was signing nonsense, according to South Africa's deaf community
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7 ways to be ready next time news breaks in Latin
feature If only you'd studied Latin, maybe you could have broken the story of Pope Benedict's resignation
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The tiny island where men have their own language
feature Women and children can understand the language, but it is primarily used among men engaged in male domain activities like fishing and boat-building
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The sign language interpreter for Mayor de Blasio's press conference was deaf. How does that work?
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4 shows from Norway's crazy, successful slow TV experiment
feature Norwegians embrace television that challenges them to take it all in, including a 4-hour discussion about firewood
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Listen to Frozen's 'Let It Go' in 25 languages
feature English, French, German, Dutch, Mandarin, Swedish, Japanese, Polish, Hungarian...
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