Hillary in Woodstock, Vermont, grew up saying mayonnaise as MY-oh-nayz, just like her mother did. That pronunciation is real and valid, though uncommon. The French-derived word has never fully anglicized, so dictionaries and dialect surveys record...
How many different ways are there to say you have a baby on the way? You can say you’re pregnant, great with child, clucky, awkward, eating for two, lumpy, or swallowed a pumpkin seed? • The story behind the word...
An Omaha, Nebraska, woman reports that a customer emailed her after a sales presentation to correct her pronunciation of the word via, meaning “through” or “by means of.” In this case, the customer wasn’t right: via can...
Bridget in Ishpeming, Michigan, wonders why so many English speakers answer a restroom knock with Ocupado!, even when they don’t speak Spanish. The usage may have been reinforced by bilingual signs in everyday U.S. life, including old airline seat...
Books that make great gifts for language-lovers, the difference between a nerd and a geek, and talk about a new term, poutrage, and what do you call the crust in the corners of your eyes after a night’s sleep?
Coup de grâce means “stroke of mercy” in French, originally a mercy killing for someone or something mortally wounded. Vera in San Diego wondered after a Thanksgiving family debate whether it can also mean a final touch or decisive event and whether...
