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Geronimo! When Is It OK to Use a Term with Native American Roots?
Among the many aftershocks of the killing of Osama bin Laden was the controversy over the use of “Geronimo” as a code-name for the terrorist.
Read & DiscussAddicted to Addiction: A Word We’d Snort if We Could
The world has an obsession with "addiction", but what does that word even mean today?
Read & DiscussWord Ma-Sheen: The Bi-Winner Gives the Lexicon Tiger Blood
On Charlie Sheen's linguistic acrobatics.
Read & DiscussScreaming Yellow Zonkers! Green’s Dictionary is the Bible of Slang
Hilariously subversive (or subversively hilarious), a new slang dictionary challenges the sanctity of language by helping us laugh at life.
Read & DiscussSnowpocalypse! Blizzaster! We’re Buried in Snow-perbole
The only thing more impressive than this winter's recent snowfall has been the hyperbolic language we've used to describe it.
Read & DiscussThe History of the Word Rape
The recently abandoned Republican efforts to distinguish between "rape" and "forcible rape" sheds light on the word's perceived shades of gray.
Read & DiscussChicago-Style: Backroom Deals, Deep-Dish Pizzas, and Assorted Slurs
Using "Chicago-style" as a signifier of corruption is nothing new, but does the phrase also insinuate something "un-American" about cities?
Read & DiscussThe Joy of Indefinite Words: Is a Spillion More than a Metric Buttload?
How many iotas are in a bazillion? Is a jot more than a whit? How does a gazillion compare to a kabillion?
Read & DiscussJob-Killing: Republicans' Blank-Blanking Pejorative Du Jour
A look at the history of budget-busting, job-killing, and other variants of mud-slinging malarkey.
Read & DiscussLet's Bury the Not-a-Word Myth
Turns of phrase like "irregardless," "prolly," and "imma" can be cringeworthy, but that doesn't mean they aren't words.
Read & DiscussWord of the Year 2010: What Will It Be?
From "Tea Party" to "boobquake" to "vuvuzela" to "refudiate," the candidates for 2010's Word of the Year tell us quite a lot about life last year.
Read & DiscussLegacy: Formerly Regal Word Turned Euphemism for Aged Leftovers
How "legacy" became our era's most over-the-top euphemism for a something between a bingo room and the grave (and landmines).
Read & DiscussHow “Geek” Became Chic
From The Social Network to The Walking Dead, geeks are everywhere in pop culture these days. But what are the roots of this suddenly hip pejorative?
Read & DiscussTSA: Body Scans, Pat-Downs, and Junk-Inspired Acronyms
An enhanced look at TSA terminology—from enhanced pat-downs to porno-scanners to "don't touch my junk"—that are touching sensitive areas.
Read & DiscussWhy "OK" Is America’s Most Useful and Compact Invention
What the history of the word OK can tell us about American concision, psychology, and language.
Read & DiscussIs It OK to Say "Gay"?
If "gay" can mean both "homosexual" and "lame," does it make us homophobic to use it for the latter? A discussion of a controversial word.
Read & DiscussYiddish, Schmiddish!
An ode to the wonderful "schm" sound-and many other Yiddish additions to our lexicon.n
Read & DiscussBully: A Vicious, Cowardly Word With a Long History
What the history of the word can tell us about the (unfortunately) hot topic of bullying.
Read & DiscussAre Religious Vanity Plates a Sin? UDECIDE
From Jesus to Hitler to anti-abortion slogans, there is no end to the politics of the plates-license plates, that is.
Read & DiscussWhy We Shouldn't Hate the Word "Like"
Think "like" is an offense on the English language introduced by Valley Girls in the 1980s? Think again.
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