Urban Legends We Tell about Words and Phrases

Is it true that extraneous letters were dropped from certain words in American English because newspapers charged by the letter for advertising?

How factual is the claim that the name of the children's game 'tag' originated as the acronym of 'touch and go'?

A popular meme repeated confused and inaccurate claims about the purported links between fascism and modern corporations.

Anecdotal reports say the expression "a shot of whiskey" came into being when cowboys traded bullets for liquor in Old West saloons.

After President Donald Trump mistyped (then deleted) a tweet, some hurried to ascribe meanings to the mistyped word "covfefe."

The story of how the code '420' entered drug parlance as a term signifying the time to light up a joint.

Dr. Joseph Guillotin neither invented the guillotine nor was executed with one of those machines.

The cut of steak known as "sirloin" is not so named because an English king once knighted a piece of beef.

Spoiler alert: The dictionary definition of the word 'trumpery' employs such expressions as 'deceit,' 'fraud,' and 'showy but worthless.'

The 'middle finger salute' did not derive from the defiant gestures of English archers whose fingers had been severed at the Battle of Agincourt.

Common usage of the phrase "Always a bridesmaid but never a bride" originated with an advertising campaign for Listerine brand mouthwash.

Both "avocado" and "guacamole" derive from the Nahuatl word for the fruit, which only secondarily carries the slang meaning of "testicle."

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