What do the terms flummox, butterfingers, and the creeps have in common? They were all either invented or popularized by Charles Dickens. The earliest citations we have for many familiar words and phrases are from the work of the popular 19th...
The grip on a movie set is responsible for adjusting the lights, positioning and the camera, and ensuring safety. There are various picturesque explanations for this word’s origin, but the truth is likely quite simple: it comes from the French...
Ever try to write a well-known passage in limerick form? It’s harder than you think. How about this one: “There once was a lady who’s sure / All that glitters is golden and pure/ There’s a stairway that heads up to heaven...
Quiz Guy John Chaneski has a game about Dirkens novels — that is, Dickens novels with one letter in the title changed. For example, what’s the Dirkens novel about a domicile where tired orphans can take some time off work, or a shorter Dirkens...
We’re so jaded by the clickbait titles directing us to sites like Upworthy that the site Downworthy is doing something about it. And imagine what it’d be like if serious literature got the same treatment. This is part of a complete...
Jay in Fort Worth, Texas, grew up in Wisconsin hearing kibosh as KIB-bosh, not the more common KYE-bosh. To put the kibosh—also spelled kybosh—on something is to stop it decisively and fast; the word has also been used as a verb and even an...