While compiling the Oxford English Dictionary, lexicographer James Murray exchanged hundreds of letters a week with authors, advisors, and volunteer researchers. A new collection online lets you eavesdrop on discussions about which words should be...
The adjective buccal refers to “pertaining to the cheek,” as in a buccal muscle of the face. The Latin word for “cheek” bucca also led to Latin buccula, “the cheek strap of a metal helmet,” then to a “pointed knob on a shield.” In Old French, the...
Right off the bat, you can probably name a long list of common idioms that come from baseball. For example, “right off the bat.” But how about some of the more obscure ones, like the “Linda Ronstadt“? In a nod to Ronstadt’s song “Blue Bayou,” her...
scuffle v. in baseball, to not play well or to be in a slump. Etymological Note: Probably related to a meaning given by Merriam-Wester as “to struggle (as by working odd jobs) to get by.” (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)