La verdad de la milanesa, literally “the truth of the milanesa,” is an Argentine Spanish expression meaning “the real truth.” One possible origin involves a dispute over whether the breaded meat dish milanesa comes from Italy or Austria. Another...
Aman from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, grew up in a region of India where an e– sound was added to English words beginning with consonant clusters, such as scooter and school. Later he noticed the same pattern in Spanish. The sound-sequencing rules that...
Cria means a baby llama or alpaca. The English word comes from Spanish cría, related to criar, “to rear” or “to raise” a young animal. The four-letter word may seem merely like a useful Scrabble play, but it’s also the everyday term for those long...
Yasha, who grew up speaking Russian, recalls phrase used to comfort a child after a small mishap like a skinned knee. The phrase translates as “It will heal in time for the wedding,” and Yasha had assumed it was solely Slavic. So he was surprised to...
If you take up texting and social media late in life, there’s a lot to learn! A twenty-something wants advice getting her dad up to speed on memes, Instagram, and animated images. Plus, when you’re on a long road trip, what do you call that one...
Ever wonder what medieval England looked and sounded like? In Old English, the word hord meant “treasure” and your wordhord was the treasure of words locked up inside you. A delightful new book uses the language of that period to create a vivid look...