The words cushy, cheeky, and non-starter all began as Britishisms, then hopped across the pond to the United States. A new book examines what happens when British words and phrases migrate into American English. Also, if you speak a language besides...
Mary Beth in Greenville, South Carolina, wonders: Why do we say four-oh-nine for the number 409 instead of four-zero-nine or four-aught-nine? What are the rules for saying either zero or oh or aught or ought to indicate that arithmetical symbol...
Responding to our conversation about alternatives to the term mocktail, Rob in Wolcott, New York, reports on our Facebook group that he recently saw the term zero-proof drink to describe an alcohol-free beverage — a sophisticated cocktail of harissa...
Is the TV show Hawaii Five-0 named for Ford Mustang 5.0 engines in police cruisers? No, and it’s correctly typed with a zero instead of the letter “O.” This is part of a complete episode.
An Alabama high-school teacher observes that one of his fellow teachers tends to write words that should be plural as singular, such as “I graded all 50 test” instead of “I graded all 50 tests.” The reason for this locution...
vacuum energy n.— «What quantum theory says is that, powered by nothing whatsoever, the universe will still vibrate with what is sometimes called “vacuum energy” or “zero-point energy.”» —“The dark matter is the anti-matter source of...