Latest articles by Arika Okrent
-
The 11 best new words added to Oxford dictionaries
feature From "al desko" to "tomoz"...
feature -
The true origin story of the football huddle
feature It was actually first invented by deaf players
feature -
5 boring subjects translated into clickbait headlines
feature "You NEED to see this hot model (NSFW) of ethnic politics and foreign policy"
feature -
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
feature -
4 surprising things Facebook has learned from your relationship status
feature For starters: Breaking up is less hard to do during summer
feature -
Why are 'ghost,' 'ghastly,' and ' ghoul' spelled with 'gh'?
feature It's a really strange way for an English word to start
feature -
What is the most complex Chinese character?
feature Biáng. And it's made up of 57 strokes
feature -
Learn Klingon in 6 steps
feature It's the only honorable thing to do
feature -
15 words plagued by unusual silent letters
feature Damn you, tricky consonant clusters
feature -
11 amazing facts about the Iditarod
feature There's even a Jamaican dog sled team
feature -
Why does 'terrible' mean bad and 'terrific' mean good?
feature These crossover words often require a bit of ironic slang in order to evolve
feature -
How to write the sound of a kiss
feature Muah!
feature -
How Philadelphia's neighborhoods got their names
feature Philadelphia is a city of American history, and that history is reflected in its various neighborhoods
feature -
'Tis and 10 other fun proclitic words
feature
feature -
35 classy slang terms for naughty bits from the past 600 years
feature Your vulgar vocabulary can now span centuries
feature -
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.
feature -
How to tell whether you've got angst, ennui, or weltschmerz
feature 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?
feature -
11 little-known words for specific family members
feature Share this with your niblings
feature -
12 old words that survived by getting fossilized in idioms
feature "Sleight of hand" (not "slight of hand" as it's often misspelled) helped the Middle English word "sleight" survive obsolescence
feature -
17 old proverbs we should use more often
feature We dare you to say "Many a little makes a mickle" without smiling
feature -
11 naughty sounding scientific names (and what they really mean)
feature From Turdus Maximus to Pinus Rigida
feature -
11 words and phrases popularized by World War I
feature Camouflage, shell shock, and more
feature -
How many languages is it possible to know?
feature It depends on whom you ask
feature -
Why is Y sometimes a vowel?
feature In "yes," Y is representing a consonant, and in "gym" it is representing a vowel
feature
