The adjectives canine and feline refer to dogs and cats. But how does English address other groups of animals? Plus, cabin fever has been around much longer than the current pandemic. That restless, antsy, stir-crazy feeling goes back to the days...
Cat hair may be something you brush off, but cat hair is also a slang term that means “money.” In the same way, cat beer isn’t alcoholic — some people use cat beer as a joking term for “milk.” And imagine walking on a...
Have you ever googled your own name and found someone else who goes by the very same moniker? There’s a word for that: googleganger. Plus, the language of hobbyists and enthusiasts: If you’re a beekeeper, perhaps you call yourself a...
The lovely English word stilliform, or “drop-shaped,” comes from Latin stilla, meaning “drop,” the source also of distill and instill. This is part of a complete episode.
One secret to writing well is … there is no secret! There’s no substitute for simply sitting down day after day to practice the craft and learn from your mistakes. Plus, childhood mixups around word definitions can lead to some funny stories...
An amateur herpetologist in Tucson, Arizona, notes that there’s a raging debate among his fellow reptile enthusiasts about the term in situ, which is Latin for “in place.” Is it “in SIT-too,” “in SITCH-yoo,”...