Chances are, when you started reading you encountered plenty of new words. That’s great for you—you were learning, after all—but here’s the catch. Your skill at pronouncing these words didn’t necessarily keep up with your reading skills, leading to some funny mishaps. Did colonel’s pronunciation confuse you? What about choir? Or hors’d’oeuvres? (Did you try “horse divorce” or “hers dervs”?) This might seem silly now, but …
Say cheese! There are a ton of different cheeses out there, and many of them have unique toponyms, or names that are derived from the name of a place. In fact, many cheeses are officially designated by international cheese organizations—yes, that’s a thing—as so-called “protected cheeses,” meaning only a specific place can legally make a certain kind of cheese. Whether they are protected or not, many …
Not many side dishes can claim to be staples the world over. Of those, few are as beloved as French fries. Frites, chips, salchipapas—the list of names for fries is long, but regardless of the moniker, variations on fried pieces of potato can be found on restaurant menus on just about every continent. Now’s the time to learn a little more about the words related …
Has someone ever asked for your objective opinion? Or said that something is “entirely subjective”? The words subjective and objective are used in all kinds of contexts, from journalism to science to grammar, and they’re often discussed as opposites. But what do they actually mean? In most cases, it comes down to whether something is based on personal experience or on verifiable facts. But it …
This one’s for you, DIY fans. Jury-rigged means something was assembled quickly with the materials on hand. Jerry-built means it was cheaply or poorly built. Jerry-rigged is a variant of jury-rigged, and it may have been influenced by jerry-built. While some people consider it to be an incorrect version of jury-rigged, it’s widely used, especially in everyday speech. What does jury-rigged mean? The word jury has …
The words affect and effect are two of the most commonly confused words in the English language. They’re pronounced pretty much the same, used in the same contexts, and both can be used as both a verb and a noun. So how can you remember the difference? In this article, we’ll explain: The difference between affect and effect When to use affect or effect affects …
The idea of Earth Day emerged in 1969, inspired by a growing awareness of environmental concerns. Celebrated each year on April 22, the day highlights the importance of protecting the natural world. The first official Earth Day was organized in 1970 by Sen. Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, who hoped to bring environmental issues to the attention of politicians and the broader public. Nelson was moved …
November is Native American Heritage Month, a monthlong observance dedicated to celebrating, honoring, and learning about Native American heritage and culture and its diversity. Recognition and preservation of such heritage is particularly important given the history of Indigenous Peoples in North America and their continued efforts to preserve their rich cultures—despite the many acts of genocide, systemic oppression, and erasure they have been targeted with …
Every year since 1986, the United States has observed Martin Luther King Jr. Day on the third Monday in January. The national holiday honors a man who not only was an inspirational civil rights activist during the 1960s, but also one of the greatest orators of our time. King wrote five books during his lifetime, and at one point was estimated to deliver up to …
The internet keeps on supplying us with an endless stream of trendy slang words that come from anywhere—from bizarre TikTok streams and YouTube videos featuring sentient toilets—and everywhere in between. Why are grown men called babygirl? What is the scuttlebutt on tush push and gyatt? What does it mean to be delulu? Are we doomed to a fate of enshittification? We have all of the …
by Alyssa Pereira From boxes on census forms to drop-down menus on job applications, we often see Hispanic and Latino positioned side by side, seemingly as interchangeable terms to describe the race and heritage of a population that makes up nearly 20% of the United States. It’s easy to see why these two words are so often conflated and frequently confused. But Hispanic and Latino …
