Monthly Archives: June, 2015

  1. letters, man, blond, speaking

    Can an Inhaled Word Mean Something?

    A surprising number of languages say yes—sometimes If there’s one thing you thought you knew about talking, it’s that speech is produced by pushing air out of the lungs, not by breathing in. But is that always true? This video shows a particular sound that means “yes” in Swedish, and it’s produced while inhaling: But it turns out that the Swedish inhaled “yes” sound is …

  2. soccer, field, ball

    Why Is It Called Soccer?

    The most popular sport in the world is one in which people chase after a ball and kick it with their feet (and give it an occasional head-butt). In most places where this sport is enjoyed it is referred to in a straightforward fashion: football.

  3. Continually vs. Continuously

    Today we’re going to explore the meanings and uses of the adverbs continually and continuously. These terms, along with their adjective forms continual and continuous, are often used interchangeably in speech and writing, but style guides urge writers to practice discernment when using continually and continuously. In formal contexts, continually should be used to mean “very often; at regular or frequent intervals,” and continuously to …

  4. The Problem With Awesome

    Many words have been wasted on the subject of when adulthood starts. Some hold that it comes about with the right to drink alcoholic beverages or vote in an election. For particularly stringent grammarians of a certain generation, the rite of passage that marks the official start of adulthood is the point at which one becomes annoyed at hearing someone say that something is awesome, …