Did UN Ban the Word ‘War’ Regarding Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine?
Staff were reportedly advised to instead use “conflict” or “military offensive.”
Did UN Ban the Word ‘War’ Regarding Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine?
Language
The very tool we use to communicate urban legends to each other — language — is itself a source of folklore. A number of the words and phrases in use today have interesting origins that have almost become obscured in the mists of time. Equally, our sense of romance leads us to invent unusual origins for commonplace words rather than be satisfied with their mundane beginnings.
Did People Refer to Gaslighting During the Era of ‘I Love Lucy’?
A stray piece of dialogue from the 2021 biopic "Being the Ricardos" set off a...
Did People Refer to Gaslighting During the Era of ‘I Love Lucy’?
Why Are Blue Laws Called ‘Blue Laws’?
The term 'blue laws' historically defined regulations intended to preserve the Sabbath by proscribing what...
Why Are Blue Laws Called ‘Blue Laws’?
Where Did the Term ‘Pink Slip’ Originate?
Another linguistic mystery over the origins of something everyone's heard about but has never actually...
Where Did the Term ‘Pink Slip’ Originate?
Watch the Borders!
Heard the legend about a misunderstood J. Edgar Hoover directive?
Watch the Borders!
Was ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ Mistranslated as ‘The Angry Raisins’?
"You'd get a blank look at McDonald's, too, if you asked for a slice of...
Was ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ Mistranslated as ‘The Angry Raisins’?
Is Greenland Called Greenland Because It’s a Green Land?
Erik the Red's 10th century marketing ploy is still fooling some people.
Is Greenland Called Greenland Because It’s a Green Land?
Is ‘Pandemicide’ a New Word Coined To Describe Trump’s COVID-19 Response?
The earliest use of the term we found was from 2020.
Is ‘Pandemicide’ a New Word Coined To Describe Trump’s COVID-19 Response?
Is It ‘Sea Shanty’ or ‘Sea Chanty’?
The word for a sailor's work song is pronounced SHAN-tee, but how you choose to...
Is It ‘Sea Shanty’ or ‘Sea Chanty’?
Does ‘Homework’ Spelled Backwards Mean ‘Child Abuse’ in Latin?
Thousands of languages have existed throughout the history of humanity. There is no evidence the...
Does ‘Homework’ Spelled Backwards Mean ‘Child Abuse’ in Latin?
Do Most People Struggle To Recognize the Lowercase Letter ‘G’?
The letter "G" is one of several English letters that has multiple lowercase versions.
Do Most People Struggle To Recognize the Lowercase Letter ‘G’?
Does ‘Quarantine’ Originate from the Word ‘Forty’ (Days) in Italian?
A "quarantine" separates and restricts the movement of people who were exposed to a contagious...
Does ‘Quarantine’ Originate from the Word ‘Forty’ (Days) in Italian?