The Word
How to talk like a doomsday prepper
Useful jargon for the zombie apocalypse.
Jacques Barzun, protector of English
Right up to his death at 104, the historian fought to preserve the language he loved.
ideas | The Word
How Twitter language reveals your gender — or your friends’
Social media is giving linguists new insight into how speech varies.
Ideas | The Word
Now, speaking for Romney (or Obama)
The shift to calling someone a ‘surrogate’ of a candidate instead of a supporter says a lot about how the political game has evolved.
The Word
Dear Apple: Stop the funnification!
Advertisers love coining words nearly as much as critics love skewering them.
The word
How Sam, Mike, and Will became football positions
The logic of the game’s strange new nicknames.
The Word
What is YOLO? Only teenagers know for sure
A youthful slang craze flies under the adult radar.
How did ‘Monday’ become a racist slur?
A Leominster police officer’s coded insult opens up a world of regular words used for ill.
Uncommon Knowledge
Uncommon Knowledge
When single ladies ovulate, they vote Barack
And other surprising insights from the social sciences.
