Wordplay

Word History (page 2)

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

Welcome to flavor town

Why do we say 'break a leg'?

Theater has given English many gifts. This one is a little hard to explain.

Where does 'curiosity killed the cat' come from?

No cats were harmed in the making of this idiom

Why do we call it a 'pipe dream'?

Hint: 19th century drug use

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?

How long is a jiffy?

It depends who you ask

Why do we call it a 'flea market'?

Did they ever sell fleas?

The Origin of O'clock

The apostrophe that ate a whole word

Why is the letter ‘Z’ associated with sleeping?

A cartoon origin story

Is “GIF” pronounced “jiff” or “giff”?

Why not both?

What does 'Wi-Fi' really mean?

It’s probably not what you think

Skibidi, Mog & More: Gen Alpha Slang

Skibidi! Mog!! Rizz!!!

Words That Turned 100 in 2025

Happy Birthday to our Centenarians

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Words With Remarkable Origins, Vol. 2

What does 'at large' mean?

A holdover of an ancient meaning

Much Ado about ‘Folie à deux’

From French psychiatry to the silver screen

Back to School Vocabulary

Words that increase in lookups when students return to school

Etymologies for Every Day of the Week

The sun, the moon, four gods, and a goddess.

Eavesdrop, Fiasco, and 8 More Words with Surprising Origins

Including some trivia on ‘trivia’

7 Run-Down Words That Have Seen Better Days

They've taken a hit but are still standing.

‘Fascism’: The Word’s Meaning and History

Why did Yankee Doodle call a feather 'macaroni'?

What's with his feathered cap?

'Dord': How a Non-Word Made it into the Dictionary

It once haunted our books.

'Piano': Its Name Is Only Half the Story

The soft and loud of it

Words with Lost Meanings

Some words just don't mean what they used to...

The Physical History of 'Stereotype'

From the printing house to everyone's house

'Pathetic': A History

An in-depth chronicle of inadequacy

'Shutdown': An Essential History

We're open for word business

Words Inspired by Dogs

These are a wordsmith's best friend

Compound Words That Used to Make a Lot More Sense

How 'jack' met 'pot.' How 'wed' met 'lock.'

7 Good Stories That Just Aren't True

No, that's not where that word comes from

Why do we say 'wear your heart on your sleeve'?

The answer may come from medieval jousts

Where does the word 'trivia' come from?

You may be quizzed on this later

The Hairy History of 'Sideburns'

Lousy general. Amazing hair.

8 Common Words with Military Origins

'Skedaddle', 'ginormous', and more

What does it mean to 'endorse' a presidential candidate?

It's kind of like "endorsing" a check

'Ganef,' 'Galoot,' and More Historical Slang Terms We Love

'Hella' is in hella good company

'Caucus': A Curious American Word

Caulkers? Caucauasu? C.A.U.C.U.S.?

How the Turkey Got Its Name

The strange global travels of America's favorite Thanksgiving meal

Egregious: Meaning and History

From Remarkably Good to Shockingly Bad

What Does "Jiggery-Pokery" Mean?

Antonin Scalia's Unapologetic Use of Rhyming Reduplication

Is Being Called Tenacious a Good Thing?

The Definition of "Tenacious"

The Curious History of 'Filibuster'

The Curious History of "Filibuster"

10 Words You Don’t Seem to Hear as Much These Days

As chosen by you, the social media scroller!

How a Word For "Blood" Came to Mean "Optimistic"

The Odd History of "Sanguine"

Spam. A Lot of Spam.

How Spam Became Something On Your Phone, Not On Your Plate

Teflon, "Gunk," & More: Products That Became Words

Top 10 Words from Trademarks, Vol. 2

10 Words That Come from 'Mother'

'Metropolis', 'matrix', and more

Why do we say 'willy-nilly'?

It wasn't always about carelessness

Was 'nervous Nellie' a real person?

Sort of!

Where does the word 'mayday' come from?

Mayday, May Day!

How 'Namaste' Entered The English Language

"I bow to you"

April Fools' Day: We Don't Know Its Origin

But be wary on April 1 anyway.

Does 'handsome' only describe men?

On 'Awesome'

An extraordinary, terrific word

9 Christmas Words with Surprising Histories

There's no bread in 'gingerbread'

A Few Words on 'Toast'

A word with surprisingly literal origins

Why is there no 'n' in 'restaurateur'?

Making a meal out of it

6 Words Whose Abstract Meanings Came First

From conceptual to concrete

How 'Way' Became a Word for 'Road'

Life is a highway

You Don't Know 'Jack'

But we do

The History of 'Bodice'

For our romance readers

'Invest': Dress for Success

Button up that vest

'Infrastructure': A New Word from Old Roots

A solid word that's also flexible

The Piratical History of 'Filibuster'

It won't take long to read

An Illuminating History of 'Lite'

Shedding some light on it

'Speculate': Looking for a Profit

From seeing to imagining

Getting Up to Speed on (the History of) 'Speed'

"Godspeed," dear readers.

Why We Keep Things 'Platonic'

From ideals to friendships

A Reading Break on 'Laurel'

Rest on them, but not for too long

Where We Get 'Chanteys' (and 'Shanties')

Way hay and up she rises.

Taking a Walk with 'Pedestrian'

Nothing dull about a good stroll, right?

Words From 1921: 100 Years Old and Still Around

From goons to abominable snowmen

'Talented': That Vile and Barbarous Vocable

It was once a hotly contested adjective

'Tally' and 'Tabulate': It All Adds Up

However you count it

What is a 'Pyrrhic victory'?

It'll cost you nothing to read.

A Brief History of the 'Task Force'

Our objective is clear.

Talking Turkey On 'Gobble'

And how the bird got its nickname

'Avoid Like the Plague': A History

Heading straight toward its origins

The Story Behind 'First Lady'

Always second to none.

'Internecine': A History

A mistake that stuck

The History of 'Ballot'

Where your vote comes from

'Cordial': A Word Straight from the Heart

Whereas 'coronary' is not so much

A Brief on 'Squadron' and 'Squad'

By land, sea, or air

Keeping Watch on 'Surveil'

Keeping tabs on a back-formation.

Read This 'Posthaste'

For when you need it there quickly

A Briefing on the 'College' in 'Electoral College'

Why 'college' anyway?

Powering Up the History of 'Blackout'

It's electric

The Versatility of ‘Tele-’

The combining form we need now more than ever.

The Questionable Origin of 'Quiz'

A tall tale and a word history

Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble: On ‘Kettling’

A police tactic that puts some in hot water.

'Precedented' and 'Unprecedented' Times

Are there "precedented" times?

A Trick for Dealing with Summer Heat: Estivate

It’s like hibernating, but warmer.

'Pigeonhole': A History

Do pigeons ever live in them?

'Temperament' and 'Temperature': Former Synonyms

Latin brought them together

‘Pushing the Envelope’: Don’t Mail It In

The outer limits of an idiom.

'Party': A Word for One or Many

A party can be any size.

A Short History of 'Curfew'

Sounding the bell for etymology

The Sinister Origins of 'Fascinate'

It'll hold you spellbound.

On the History of 'cc' and 'bcc'

We're copying you on this.

What is a ‘bleeding heart’?

From the blood sport of politics.

Burrowing into 'Groundhog Day'

And a bit into 'Candlemas'

How 'Mean' Became Nasty

It was a perfectly nice word for centuries

An Analysis of 'Dream'

We interpret its history.

The (Not Always) Cheery History of 'Cheer'

To your health

Is 'Positively' Positively Legal?

When there's 'positively' none of something

The True Story of 'Realize' and 'Realise'

Two spellings, an ocean apart

'Cliché': We’ve Heard It All Before

A word for something you want to avoid
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