Latest articles by Arika Okrent
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What most people get wrong about 'o' vs 'oh'
feature O reader, we're here to help!
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Explained: English's 3 different prefixes for 'half'
feature Semi, hemi, demi
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5 pairs of countries that Americans confuse
feature Newsflash: The Czech Republic is not the same as the Russia region of Chechnya
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4 changes to English so subtle we hardly notice they're happening
feature Among them: The rise of the "get-passive"
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How the U.S. made war with the language of peace
feature Poor, poor Esperanto
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14 Swedish words that conflict with the Ikea products they name
feature Some of these make absolutely no sense
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How many words do Eskimos really have for snow?
feature Depending on whom you ask, anywhere from 2 to 99
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10 words with difficult-to-remember meanings
feature It's okay. We're confused, too.
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Rules shmules: 5 phonetic pitfalls of shm- reduplication
feature With shm- you can be simultaneously grumpy and cute. But it's not always easy to figure out where to put the shm-
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9 extremely pretentious Latin and Greek plurals
feature What do you do when you're talking about more than one octopus?
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3 awesome translations from this sign language rap battle on Jimmy Kimmel Live
feature Attitude is universal
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Watch the Surf Punks explain the latest slang in this 1980s news report
feature Radical, dude
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15 less-than-inspirational quotes from a book of moral advice
feature Reaching for the stars probably isn't the most practical advice after all...
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11 tragic emotions and how to properly act them out on stage (according to an 1889 guide)
feature "Silent sorrow" could be your ticket to stardom
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7 geeky-cool translations of Hamlet
feature Hamlet has been translated into hundreds of languages. But normal human languages can be so boring...
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Don't Ask, Don't Tell: The end of a policy, the beginning of an idiom
feature It's been two years since the repeal of the policy, but the phrase seems here to stay
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Should U.K. schools shame students who use regional slang?
The Explainer One campus in Northeast England wants to zap phrases like "gizit ere" and "he was sat there"
The Explainer -
Tips for keeping your tenement tidy (in 1911)
feature The Martha Stewart of early 20th century tenement living has some advice for young ladies
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The strange evolution of 'because'
feature Because reasons
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4 good reasons why people say 'I could care less'
feature No, you couldn't
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Why does Q almost always go with a U?
feature Good question
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How many spaces should there be at the end of a sentence?
feature Grammar nerds, sharpen your swords!
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The first words of 11 famous people
feature You'll never guess whose first words were "Don't do that"
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The world's greatest alphabet
feature Happy belated Hangul Day!
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