Van from Washington, D.C., is curious about the word fluffle, which supposedly denotes “a group of bunnies.” A friend of hers claimed to have coined this collective noun for lagomorphs along with friends at the University of Alberta in...
Gossip goes by many names: the poop, the scoop, the lowdown, the dope, the scuttlebutt, the 411, the grapes, the gore, and hot tea. Plus, John Donne’s love poems are among the greatest in the English language, even as they’re famously...
Mark from Richland Center, Wisconsin, wonders about the origin of the expression Murphy’s Law, which is often rendered as Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. The concept has been around for years, but researchers Fred Shapiro, Stephen...
In this episode, Grant offers a peek at some expressions he’s nominating for the American Dialect Society’s 2007 Word of the Year vote in January, 2008. Will it be w00t, subprime, or something else? You can also check out Grant’s...
counter-recruiter n. a person who, as a practice of belief or profession, tries to counteract enlistment efforts of the military. Editorial Note: This term has been nominated in the American Dialect Society‘s 16th annual Words of the Year vote. The...
muffin top n. rolls of flesh bulging over a waistband. Editorial Note: This term was nominated as one of the words of the year, voted on by the American Dialect Society January 6, 2006. It did not win. This term may have first been popularized by...