words are weird Exploring the fascinating origins of job names Gareth Branwyn

english language The Viking influence on the English language Gareth Branwyn

cool color Cool facts about the word "orange" Annie Rauwerda

fajita scheme Fascism and fajitas have the same etymological roots Thom Dunn

PBS The origins of the word "monster" Gareth Branwyn

words are weird How the etymology of "Arctic" complicates the cryptic etymology of "bear" Thom Dunn

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

not square The story of 'cool' Rusty Blazenhoff

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

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

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

golden ticket Scrumdiddlyumptious and other Roald Dahlesque words now in the Oxford English Dictionary David Pescovitz