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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How do you do a Philadelphia accent?
feature Repeat after me: "Halve the hoagie, then have half"
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11 common words with very specific meanings on food labels
feature Companies can't use the word "light" lightly
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8 symbols that we turned into words
feature How / and ♥ became words in their own right
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Is Faulkner's 'as I lay dying' grammatically incorrect?
feature Musician Sufjan Stevens has sparked a controversy with his open letter to Miley Cyrus
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11 teeny units of measurement for tiny things
feature When someone says they'll be "back in two shakes!" they're probably overpromising...
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Is it possible to think without language?
feature There is evidence that deaf people cut off from language, spoken or signed, think in sophisticated ways before they have been exposed to language
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Iko iko wan dey: What do the words to that Mardi Gras song mean?
feature A look at the origins of Mardi Gras' most popular song
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The least popular American baby names (from 1880 to 1932)
feature Handy, Spurgeon, Icy, Flem, Sister, and more
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Why have baby-names become increasingly female-sounding?
feature Since 1950, both boys' and girls' names have been taking on more feminine characteristics
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15 harsh things critics said about The Nutcracker after its 1892 premiere
feature "It's a pity that so much good music is expended on such nonsense"
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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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7 book dedications that basically say 'screw you'
feature "I do not dedicate my book to any body; for I know nobody worth dedicating it to. I have no friends, no children, no wife, no home; — no relations, no well-wishers; — nobody to love, and nobody to care for"
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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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26 fancy, unusual plurals that work like 'attorneys general'
feature Be careful or the grammar police might slap you with multiple courts-martial
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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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11 little-known words for specific family members
feature Share this with your niblings
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