A North Carolina listener is fond of the German loanword Weltschmerz, literally “world pain,” a compound word made up of Welt, cognate with English world and Schmerz, cognate with smart as in That smarts! Coined by a 19th-century German author who...
In Scotland and Northern England, something that’s kenspeckle is “conspicuous.” This word likely comes from Scandinavian languages and is related to English ken, meaning “range of knowledge.” And it’s not just ken — this family of words includes...
Liz from San Antonio, Texas, often sees the term going west in World War I-era literature and letters being used to refer to being killed in combat. The term go west as a euphemism for dying most likely has to do with the end of the day. J.R.R...
Karen from Santa Barbara, California, wonders about the verb to retire. Why doesn’t it mean to tire all over again? The Spanish word for retirement, jubilación, is cognate with the English word jubilation. This is part of a complete episode...
pixie v. to practice sabotage as an expression of environmental politics. Editorial Note: Pixieing can range from mischievous to criminal acts, including occupying a site, crippling machinery, or removing survey markers. Etymological Note: The...
