At some point, you may have been to a black tie event if you’ve attended a fancy wedding. But what the heck is white tie? Is it more formal than black tie? In this article, we will get all dressed up as we break down the differences between black tie and white tie, explain which is considered to be more formal, and give examples of …
by Molly Rosen MarrinerIt’s another installment of Last Month in Pop Language, a column where the most popular (statistically) song, book, and film of the month will have their words analyzed in hopes of drawing a conclusion about language’s current usage—and future. At the end of each monthly column, we’ll draw a conclusion: Was last month’s pop language masterly, malevolent, or merely meh? Film: Avengers: Infinity War Avengers: Infinity …
Mark Twain once wrote: “This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four.” Twain’s referring to the first day of April or, as it’s often known, April Fools’ Day. While the first day of the fourth month of the year is sure to bring plenty of shenanigans (will you be the perpetrator or the …
People in the Western world debate many things, from whether cheesecake is actually a cake to which airplane seat is the best—aisle or the window? What year it is generally does not fall into the category of debated facts. However, how to refer to said year and the past years from ancient history—BC and AD or BCE and CE—does. Both sets of abbreviations have history. One …
If you haven’t visited a classroom in years, you might be surprised to discover surprising new approaches to education. Do you know what microlearning is? Does you child’s school favor personalized or experiential learning? Is asynchronous learning the same as distance education? Learning has come a long way since the days of reciting times tables in the brick school house or getting chalky hands while …
Halloween is actually just the beginning of a string of otherworldly holidays. The tricks, treats, and customs of Halloween, now mostly secular, are based in part on ancient Celtic and Christian festivals. But did you know that the Halloween customs extend past October 31? In fact, the day after Halloween is a celebrated day in many parts of the world. What is All Saints’ Day? November …
While some TV shows might not make us smarter (that's right reality TV, we're talking to you), there are others (and popular songs, too) that help enhance our language skills. We take a look at ten songs and shows that help improve our vocabulary.
Few things travel across borders as easily as food recipes and ingredients. So perhaps it should come as no surprise that there are so many foods named from where they originally come from. Sometimes the name comes from a specific ingredient like a fruit or vegetable that’s grown in a place, like Sichuan peppers or Fuji apples, while other times the name comes from a …
