7 Simple Sentences That Drive English Speakers Crazy
Think you have a good grasp of English? Good. Let’s play a little game, then. Below are seven short sentences. Each one of them is grammatically correct. Can you figure out why, and what they’re trying...
View ArticleClik here to view.
You’re Probably Pronouncing “The” Wrong at Least 50 Percent of the Time
“The.” It’s the single most common word in the English language, according to Oxford Dictionaries, and one of just 50 words Dr. Seuss included in his early-reading classic, Green Eggs and Ham. It’s a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
50 Funny Town Names from Each of the 50 States
Burnt Corn, Alabama There are a few legends about how Burnt Corn got its name. Some say settlers burned the Indians’ corn fields; others say Indians burned the settlers’ corn. Either way, conflict...
View ArticleClik here to view.
8 Funny Words You’d Think Were Completely Made Up—and What They Really Mean
Friendlily No, it’s not misspelled. It sounds wrong, but—trust us—it’s right! Do you know what it means? The definition: To do something in a friendly way. For example: “He friendlily questioned my...
View ArticleClik here to view.
17 Common Food Names You Probably Pronounce Wrong
Bruschetta Don’t say: Broo-sheh-tuh… Instead say: Broo-SKET-tuh You’ll argue about the differences in these regional food names forever. Is it soda or pop?
View ArticleClik here to view.
Here Is the Hardest Word to Guess in Hangman, According to Science
It’s a rainy day in the 1500s, and the King’s Justice slides a noose around your neck. He tightens it, steps around the wobbly stool beneath your feet and looks you square in the eye. “I’m thinking of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Weird Facts About 7 Punctuation Marks You See Everywhere
# Has a Name You’d Never Guess Depending on when you were born, you probably know the # symbol as either a pound sign, number sign, or for the Twitter junkies among us, a hashtag. Turns out, none of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Simple Trick to Upgrade Your Vocabulary and Make You Sound More Intelligent
They go by many names: distracters, credibility killers, fluency disrupters, disfluencies, fillers. Whatever you want to call them, words such as “um,” “uh,” and “like,” are maddeningly common in our...
View ArticleClik here to view.
11 Words and Phrases That Used to Be Insults—but Are Now Compliments
“You know I’m bad, I’m bad, come on, you know” —Michael Jackson, Bad Around here, we love words, all kinds of words. But have you ever noticed how insults evolve to mean their opposite? Over time...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Canola” in Canola Oil Has Been an Acronym This Whole Time
How well do you know your pantry? Without looking, you already have some idea of what’s in there, even if you can’t produce an exact count. It’s stocked with cans of soup, boxes of cereal and uncooked...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Can You Guess the Most Common Letters in the English Language?
This paragraph is abnormal. It contains an oddity, a linguistic quirk that you will find in no popular book or journal or script in any library. Want a hint? A crucial bit of vocabulary is missing...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Here’s Why the Number “39” Means “Thank You” in Japan
In Japan, slurping your food is considered polite, most of the island’s stoplights are blue instead of green, and you can get sushi delivered via robot. Nothing out of the ordinary here. But why is it...
View ArticleClik here to view.
24 Things You’ve Been Saying Wrong This Whole Time
Could care less What you actually mean: Couldn’t care less You want to say you care so little already that you couldn’t possibly care any less. When the Boston Celtics’ Ray Allen said, “God could care...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Can You Figure Out This Calligraphy Puzzle?
When it comes to calligraphy puzzles, few have Xu Bing’s creativity beat. Bing, an artist, sculptor, and printmaker, has released a new book titled Look! What Do You See? and has been so kind as to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
9 Common Sayings That Are Actually Total Nonsense
Common saying: “No use crying over spilled milk” Bad things are going to happen, and that’s the way the cookie crumbles. But while dwelling on past losses can prolong your pain, suppressing your...
View ArticleClik here to view.
This Is the Most-Searched Word of the Year, According to Dictionary.com
The English language can be a funny thing. For instance, the most complicated word is only three letters long. But difficult grammar and confusing spelling aside, it can also tell us a lot about our...
View ArticleClik here to view.
10 Place Names You’ve Been Pronouncing All Wrong
Boise, Idaho There’s no surer way to mark yourself as an outsider in potato country than by pronouncing it BOY-zee. The locals say BOY-see, thanks very much! They may still let you buy some of their...
View ArticleClik here to view.
12 Quirky Words That Don’t Have An English Translation — But Totally Should
Tingo To borrow objects one by one from a neighbor’s house until there is nothing left. (Pascuense language of Easter Island) (We can predict where you grew up based on how you say these nine words.)...
View ArticleClik here to view.
This Is Why We Use %$@#! to Represent Curse Words
When you want to use strong language on social media but don’t necessarily want your kids or in-laws to see, there’s one trick that gets the point across without slumming your speech with swear words:...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Surprising Meaning Behind These 8 Really Weird Words
Yes… Even prairie dogs do it. Check out these 10 surprising words that were added to the dictionary this year. The post The Surprising Meaning Behind These 8 Really Weird Words appeared first on...
View Article