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Culture
The 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.
Culture
Chicago-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?
Culture
The 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?
Culture
Idea: A Word-Shortening Thesaurus That Makes You Better at Twitter
Thsrs, a new search tool, helps you quickly find short words to use in your tweets. Say goodbye to struggling with Twitter's 140-character limit.
Culture
Lions and Tigers and Vampire Squids, Oh My!
When Matt Taibbi described Goldman Sachs as a "vampire squid," he created a monster of a word for corporate bloodsuckers.
Culture
Video: So, What Do You Call Multiple Priuses?
With Toyota predicting that the Prius will soon be the most popular car in America, the company is trying to decide what to call more than one Prius.
Culture
Job-Killing: Republicans' Blank-Blanking Pejorative Du Jour
A look at the history of budget-busting, job-killing, and other variants of mud-slinging malarkey.
Culture
Sarah Palin Is Wrong to Equate Jared Loughner's Illness with 'Evil'
Jared Loughner is sick, not evil, and it's important for people to differentiate between the two.
Culture
Let'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.
Culture
Three Ways Removing the N-Word Will Screw Up 'Huck Finn'
By removing "the n-word" from Huckleberry Finn the editors will also strip away a lot of the meaning of the book.
Culture
Word 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.
Environment
Tracking the Language of the Environment
A cool new Google tools shows us how the language of environmental issues evolved over time.
Culture
Legacy: 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).
Culture
How “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?
Culture
If You Could Learn Any Language in an Instant, Which Would It Be and Why? Answers
Culture
GOOD Asks: If You Could Learn Any Language in an Instant, Which Would It Be and Why?
Culture
TSA: 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.
Culture
Why "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.
