In the 17th century, high jinks were boisterous drinking games. High jinks may be related to the Scottish word jink, meaning “to turn quickly or move nimbly to one side” or “to make a jerky movement, and by extension “to trick or cheat.” The high may derive from Scottish hoy or hy, words shouted to urge someone on. 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...
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Jinking is a maneuver used to avoiding a pursuing airplane on your tail or to avoid a missile