If you are a lover of obnoxiously-long words, you already know the definition of hippopotomonstrosesquipidelian is “of or pertaining to extremely long words.” Perhaps you already know these English language monstrosities that […]
The 85-characters long Maori name for a hill in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, is the longest place name found in any English speaking country. It is, Taumatawhakatangihangaoauauotameteaturipukakapikimaungah-oronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu, which roughly translates as, “the […]
“Curse the blasted, jelly-boned swines, the slimy, the belly-wriggling invertebrates, the miserable soddingrotters, the flaming sods, the sniveling, dribbling, dithering, palsied, pulse-less lot that make up England today. They’ve got white of […]
As rich as the English language is, there are plenty of words in other languages that English has not yet adopted. In addition to these that have already appeared on these […]
In 2011 European bookies were putting the odds of Queen Elizabeth II abdicating and replacing Bruce Forsyth as the host of the popular BBC dance competition Strictly Come Dancing at 50,000 to […]
A French lady to an American who was trying to converse in French: “How wise of you not to attempt the French accent!” source
In the early days of World War II, the Duke of Windsor (the former King Edward VIII), paid visits to French troops to help boost their morale. His flaccid grasp of the […]
When Crown Princess (later Queen) Louise of Sweden visited Uppsala Cathedral, the Archbishop conducted the tour in English. His use of the language was good, but he got tripped up at a […]
Japanese speakers frequently have difficulty differentiating between the English letters “L” and “R”. This was particularly evident in 1950 when supporters of General Douglas MacArthur (then serving as military governor of Japan […]
H.L. Mencken did not hide his dislike of President Warren G. Harding. He especially loathed Harding’s mangling of the English language and called such utterings “Gamalielese”, in honor of the President’s middle […]
The word uncopyrightable is the longest English word in normal use that contains no letter more than once. Read more fun facts about the English language. See more ridiculously long words.
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