Latest articles by Arika Okrent
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What's the difference between in- and un-?feature Germanic vs Latin roots only provide some help
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5 words that are spelled weirdly because someone got the etymology wrongfeature Never run with sizars
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What's the correct pronunciation of February?feature Hint: There's more than one answer
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Dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells: Why do we call weights 'bells'?feature It dates back to a fitness craze of the 1700s
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'Tis and 10 other fun proclitic wordsfeature
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35 classy slang terms for naughty bits from the past 600 yearsfeature Your vulgar vocabulary can now span centuries
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How Philadelphia's neighborhoods got their namesfeature Philadelphia is a city of American history, and that history is reflected in its various neighborhoods
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Why are there two pronunciations for the letter 'G'?feature In English, words beginning with 'g' can have a soft (giraffe) or hard (give) pronunciation. And therein lies the problem.
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How to tell whether you've got angst, ennui, or weltschmerzfeature Are you dissatisfied and worried in an introspective, overthinking German way? Or do you have sadness in your heart for the world that can never be?
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11 little-known words for specific family membersfeature Share this with your niblings
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17 old proverbs we should use more oftenfeature We dare you to say "Many a little makes a mickle" without smiling
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11 naughty sounding scientific names (and what they really mean)feature From Turdus Maximus to Pinus Rigida
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11 words and phrases popularized by World War Ifeature Camouflage, shell shock, and more
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21 fancy medical terms for mundane problemsfeature Overdid it last night? Just explain to your boss that you've got a bit of veisalgia.
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11 remnants of the Bastille you can still see todayfeature A piece of the French prison's actual moat wall? You'll find it in the subway.
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9 words created by spelling other words backwardsfeature Fancy some "semordnilaps"?
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12 animals whose names etymologically describe themfeature Armadillo means "little armored one," because of course it does
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The secret emotional lives of 5 punctuation marksfeature From the angry period to the dramatic asterisk...
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The Pig Latins of 11 other languagesfeature English speakers aren't the only ones who can make a pseudo-language
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Why is 'Weiner' sometimes 'weener' and sometimes 'whiner'?feature Anthony Weiner's name is not Wiener!
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7 sentences that sound crazy but are still grammaticalfeature Believe it or not, this sentence is grammatical: "The rat the cat the dog chased killed ate the malt."
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11 classy insults with classical Greek and Latin rootsfeature Next time you punk a ructabunde, don't be so excerebrose
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12 onomatopoeias from around the worldfeature Chik chik pok pok is the sound of a train in Korean. Ghrutu ghrutu is pig grunting in Georgian. And more!
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15 weird sample dialogues from old English textbooksfeature These pieces of text are just... off
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