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How does social context shape our perception of language? When hiking the Appalachian Trail, a young woman from Wyoming found that fellow hikers assumed she was from another country, not only because of how she spoke, but also how she looked...
When writing his doctoral dissertation, John in Bardstown, Kentucky, used an upside-down question mark after a comment to indicate he was being sarcastic. Is there a punctuation mark that serves this function? Over the centuries, several have been...
We all know that the color pink is for boys and the color blue is for girls — at least, that’s how it was 100 years ago. Grant and Martha share the surprising history behind the colors we associate with gender. Plus, we go rollin’ in our...
IOKIYAR n.— «Americans abbreviate a lot, even when it’s sarcastic. Take IOKIYAR.The acronym stands for, “It’s OK If You’re A Republican.” It’s used to describe words or actions that would cause firestorms if the responsible people were...
le sigh n.— «For the love of all that’s holy, please stop talking and end this movie. Whoa, there’s Jude without his kit! A little post-nooky bed-lounging. Le sigh.» —“Put a Stocking in It” by Ann Hornaday Washington...