language A "skulk of foxes," a "superfluity of nuns," a "business of ferrets" and other weird collective nouns Gareth Branwyn

words Exploring the fascinating origins of job names Gareth Branwyn

language The Viking influence on the English language Gareth Branwyn

etymology Cool facts about the word "orange" Annie Rauwerda

fascism Fascism and fajitas have the same etymological roots Thom Dunn

language The origins of the word "monster" Gareth Branwyn

bears How the etymology of "Arctic" complicates the cryptic etymology of "bear" Thom Dunn

candy An etymologist explains how Halloween candy favorites got their names Rusty Blazenhoff

spooks The racist history of the word "spook." Thom Dunn

colonialism Never forget Christopher Columbus's linguistic crimes and horniness for manatees Thom Dunn

words Famed lexicographer's new book "Word Perfect" released with a ton of typos David Pescovitz

butts A "buttload" is apparently a formal unit of imperial measurement Thom Dunn

poetry The oldest written record of "fuck" has been discovered — and it comes from a plague quarantine Thom Dunn

books The word "robot" originated in this 1921 Czech play David Pescovitz

Kids OK, here's a great explainer on the origins of the word "OK" Andrea James

language Breasts aren't "boobs" or "titties" but rather "tiddies" or "titays" David Pescovitz

cool The story of 'cool' Rusty Blazenhoff

Food Some folks call green peppers "mangoes" for a centuries-old reason Andrea James

animation What's the story with "gross?" David Pescovitz

language "Post-truth" is the Oxford Dictionaries word of the year David Pescovitz