Language Stories
Learn all about the English language, from fun word facts and trivia to etymologies, meanings, histories, and more.
Port and Starboard: How to Remember the Difference
Premier vs. Premiere: Debuting the Differences
15 Fascinating Tree Names, Types of Trees, and Tree Species
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Who Is Wednesday Named For?
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What’s The Difference Between Socialism vs. Communism?
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Why Is Thursday Named For A Comic Book Character?
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Why Does The Letter Q Almost Always Need The Letter U?
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Master The Secrets Of Crosswordese
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Who Wrote The Alphabet Song?
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Which Words Did English Take From Other Languages?
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What’s The Origin Of The F-word?
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What Is Phonetic Spelling?
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Why Isn’t It “Pardon my German?”
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Inertia vs. Momentum: Which Keeps You Moving?
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What Does “Wag the Dog” Mean?
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Is Friday Named After A Goddess With A Chariot Pulled By Cats?
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English Words From The Pharaohs
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Are New Idioms Ever Created?
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“Misogyny” vs. “Sexism”: Do You Know The Difference?
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What Is A Schwa?
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Puppy Love And Other Animal-inspired Phrases
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Foxy, Catty, Fishy: Traits for Animals or Humans?
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Do You Know What These Weird Plurals Mean?
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The Original Memes (Before Memes)
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Negative Or Positive Reinforcement: Which Is Better?
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The Origin Stories Behind Gaga And Other Musicians’ Names
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What Is Louisiana Creole And How Was It Created?
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Why Does A Cow Become Beef?
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The Racist History of “Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe”
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These Might Be The Strangest Names In Sports
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Taser: A Surprising Acronym With An Unsettling Story
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Why Do We Call It A “Wife Beater” Shirt?
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Quiz Yourself On The Meanings Of These Names
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What’s The Difference Between “A While” And “Awhile”
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Everyday Vs. Every Day
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What Do “Numpire” and “Ewt” Have in Common?
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Clickbait Isn’t New
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What’s The #’s Real Name?
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Who’s to Blame for Weird English Spellings?
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Farther vs. Further
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Bunny vs. Rabbit vs. Hare: What’s The Difference?
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How -Able Lets You Expand Your Descriptive Abilities
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Paramount vs. Tantamount
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“Palette” vs. “Pallet” vs. “Palate”
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Overwhelm vs. Underwhelm
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Older vs. Elder: Are You Using Them Correctly?
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“Oblivious To” vs. “Oblivious Of”: Are You Using Them Correctly?
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“Not Good” vs. “No Good”: When To Use Them Both
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Manor vs. Manner
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“Make Peace” With vs. “Come To Terms With”
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Loose vs. Lose
