I’m a 90s child, and let me tell you this much. They were a fun time to be alive. Furbies were everywhere. Friends dominated the airwaves. Alanis Morissette kept screaming about ironic situations even though none of them were really ironic when you thought about them. (After all, what’s ironic about a traffic jam when …
Vocabulary
A lot of the words we feature on the Linguaholic blog are relatively recent in origin, or have been popularized in part due to the Internet. Others are ancient, and have grown and changed with the English language for hundreds of years. The expression in this post is somewhere in the middle. Read on and …
There are a lot of expressions in English that mean something different from what they appear to mean. You wouldn’t be able to look at the words and identify the meaning. Even in context, it can sometimes be difficult to figure out the exact meaning of many idioms. The good news about “tell-tale sign” is …
What does it mean when someone says “Oh My Lanta”? A manta is a type of fish or, in Spanish-speaking parts of the world, a type of woven wrap similar to a poncho. If you’re speaking casually, you might say “wanta” instead of “want to.” Andan “anta” is an architectural term referring to an …
Every time I analyze language, I am awestruck by the magnificent depth and breadth to be found on display. On the one hand, language has a fascinating history. Old cultures affect new ones, shaping their words and passing on countless expressions. As a mutt language, English is proof of how ancient cultures can influence how …
Some things about language are more accepted than others. For example, very few people will argue about the origin of the word “Bible.” It’s clear! Expressions and idioms, though, are a different ball game. In part because they’re quirky, and in part because the once-common words they used are now vanished, figuring out the origin …
Phone numbers have come a long way since Glenn Miller’s famous song “Pennsylvania 6-5000” immortalized the phone number for the Pennsylvania Hotel in New York City. These days, it’s hard to believe that “Pennsylvania 6-5000” is even a phone number at all. Instead of a combination of letters and numbers, phone numbers in the United …
E-commerce is big business, with tens of millions of people browsing and ordering their favorite goods online daily. The fact that so much shopping is now done online means that shoppers need to adjust to new vocabulary and phrases. If you’ve ever taken part yourself, you’ve probably seen a field asking for your shipping address. …
The English language is constantly changing. It also seems like it’s changing faster and faster as the years go by. The rise of the Internet has certainly helped with both of these tendencies. Forums, chat rooms and other online messaging systems have allowed groups of like-minded individuals to band together regardless of their physical location, …