It should come as no surprise that we are word lovers. In fact, we are big word lovers in that we love really big words. To express our love, we looked around for some of the biggest, most ludicrously long words in the English language. In addition to pure length, we also tried to find: the longest word without vowels the longest one-syllable word and …
A word lover walks into a bar and asks for a drink made from fermented mashed grains. What exactly will get poured into their glass—whiskey or bourbon? And what’s the difference anyway? In this article, we will drink responsibly as we take a shot at explaining what whiskey and bourbon are, what the differences between them are, and how they are different from other similar …
Where do the buffalo roam? Many Americans may think they know the answer but would be in for a surprise when shown a picture of a buffalo. Which animal actually lives in North America—a bison or a buffalo? In this article, we’ll explain what bison and buffalo are, provide differences to tell them apart, and briefly look at some of their closest relatives. The …
When we communicate with others using words, we’re using language. We’re also using a dialect and an accent, whether we’re aware of it or not. But what do all of these words mean? How are languages, dialects, and accents different from each other? In this article, we will talk about the differences between languages, dialects, and accents while providing examples of each. The word language …
by Nick Norlen, Senior Editor Maybe it was inevitable. And perhaps it was obvious. But honestly, it’s hard not to love it. We asked the internet public to vote to determine The GWOAT—The Greatest Word Of All Time. After multiple rounds and nearly 14,000 votes, they chose… love. Allow us, the objective language observers, to be sentimental for a moment. We acknowledged up front that it’s …
Did Disney’s movie Encanto leave you humming—and wondering? Are you curious about what the Spanish word encanto means? Encanto has several meanings, all of which relate to the movie, including a surprising history. First, the noun encanto in Spanish means “charm.” A small town with beautiful historical buildings might be full of charm and could be described as an encanto. This means the unique town and …
When someone sneezes, we often use the word achoo to describe the sound. Every time we hear an achoo, we are often compelled to answer with a Bless you or God bless you. But why? Where did the word achoo come from, and why do we feel the need to bless someone whenever we hear a sneeze? This instance of onomatopoeia imitates the sound of …
So, you’ve already completed the day’s Wordle and won six games of Scrabble against your phone. What’s a bored word lover to do? Allow us to suggest a game show! That’s right—while we’ve all been playing on our phones, TV and radio game shows have quietly become one of the most riveting ways for certified wordies to get their fix. From new Wordle-inspired games to …
The terms astronomy and astrology are commonly confused, which isn’t surprising, considering they both involve studying the stars and both begin with the combining form astro- (referring to stars or celestial bodies). However, only one of these star-gazing terms refers to a recognized branch of science. In this article, we will state the difference between astronomy and astrology, explain why only one is considered a …
Hypertonic, hypotonic, and isotonic are three words that are commonly used in science. Specifically, they are used to explain how water will flow between two different chemical solutions. Solutions with a lot of stuff in them, such as saltwater, are often referred to as hypertonic while plain ol’ water is said to be hypotonic. But what does this really mean? In this article, we will …
While we try to be careful, many of us have suffered a bruise every now and again. Bruises can result from many sources, such as accidental contact with table legs or awkward meetings of thumbs and hammers. But, medically speaking, what exactly is a bruise, and what medical terms do the professionals use to talk about bruises? A bruise is a discoloration that results from …
People often wonder about the difference between macro and micro and their combining forms, macro- and micro-. In particular, it is often unclear how they are used in the context of economics. In this article, we’ll put our money where our mouth is and break down the difference between macro- and micro- while explaining how they are used to mean different things in the words …
