If you have figured out how to derive the meaning of a sentence containing nothing other than eight uses of the word “buffalo,” then roll up your sleeves and tackle this beauty: […]
Suppose a friend asks you for directions to the nearest coffee shop. Your friend knows how to get to the grocery store on the corner of Main Street and Oak Avenue. You […]
They are on the precipice of extinction. Without decisive action, all fifty of them will be gone, only to appear as footnotes in the textbooks of the future. Saving them is going […]
The English language is infinitely flexible, providing multiple synonyms for almost every word. While that is helpful in most situations, it can also contribute to some confusing and embarrassing slips of the […]
“I” before “e,” except after “c,”Or when sounded as “a” as in “neighbor” and “weigh.” This easy-to-remember jingle is one of the first spelling rules we learned as children. It has been […]
There’s nothing we like better than to be able to write about a totally non-controversial subject. It is difficult to express our joy when the matter is so clear and accepted that […]
Wy duz English hav such weerd spelling? Sum words uze silent letters. Others use dubel letters inconsistently for ekwal sounds, such as “blizzard” and “lizard.” Wat if we cud mak it eezy? […]
Those of us who love the English language have to admit to a bit of schizophrenia about the love affair. On the one hand, English is an utterly-flexible and ever-changing language, allowing […]
Have you ever used the excuse of staying home, saying, “I feel nauseous”? You probably meant that you weren’t feeling well, and that is the way most people interpreted your words. It’s […]
Italian pop star Adriano Celentano wrote a song that rose to hit No. 1 on Italy’s music charts but wasn’t in Italian. It was inspired by English, but its words weren’t from […]
Although the English language presents more than its fair share of challenges, its alphabet is pretty cut and dry. Granted, there are simpler alphabets to learn. Rotokas, spoken in parts of Papua […]
Have you ever heard of a “kangaroo word”? You may not recognize the term, but you use kangaroo words all the time. Just as an adult kangaroo carries a joey around in […]
How often do you pandiculate? You may not be familiar with the word, but you almost certainly do it on a regular basis. Pandiculation is the act of stretching and yawning at […]
The Bible has been translated into over 3,000 languages (including Klingon, as is detailed in this post). The first Bible printed in North America was in one of those 3,000 languages — […]
William Shakespeare was unquestionably one of the greatest influencers of English literature. He was also an unequaled contributor to the English language itself. Many of the words you have used in the […]
Commonplace Fun Facts 