That little instrument we all played in first grade is called a recorder because in the 15th century, the word record also meant “to practice a tune,” and was often applied to birds. This is part of a complete episode.
That little instrument we all played in first grade is called a recorder because in the 15th century, the word record also meant “to practice a tune,” and was often applied to birds. This is part of a complete episode.
The so-called “lifestyle influencer accent” you hear in videos on TikTok and YouTube, where someone speaks with rising tones at the end of sentences and phrases, suggesting that they’re about to say something important, is a form of what linguists...
Meg in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, gets why the state highway department encourages drivers to use their blinkers when changing lanes, but placing a digital sign at the Sagamore Bridge that reads Use Ya Blinkah is, well, a lexical bridge too far. Meg’s...