The new Downton Abbey movie is a luscious treat for fans of the public-television period piece, but how accurate is... more

So you’ve long dreamed of writing fiction, but don’t know where to begin? There are lots of ways to get... more

When an international team of scientists traveled to a research station in Antarctica for six months, the language they all... more

Unwrap the name of a candy bar, and you just might find a story inside. For instance, one chewy treat... more

How can you kick the verbal habit of saying you know and um so many times in a sentence? For... more

It’s hard to imagine now, but there was a time when people disagreed over the best word to use when... more

In her sumptuous new memoir, Jamaican writer Safiya Sinclair describes her escape from a difficult childhood ruled by her tyrannical... more

One way to make your new business look trendy is to use two nouns separated by an ampersand, like Peach... more

What’s the best thing to say to someone who is grieving? Choosing the right words is far less important than... more

“What has a head like a cat, feet like a cat, a tail like a cat, but isn’t a cat?”... more

In Japan, if you want to order a corndog, you ask for an Amerikan doggu (アメリカンドッグ). These types of coinages... more

Book recommendations and the art of apology. Martha and Grant share some good reads, including an opinionated romp through English... more

If you’re in a book club, how do you decide what books to read? There are lots of different ways,... more

The edge of the Grand Canyon. A remote mountaintop. A medieval cathedral. Some places are so mystical you feel like... more

Your first name is very personal, but what if you don’t like it? For some people, changing their name works... more

What do you call a segment of an orange? These juicy pieces of fruit go by lots of different names,... more

The autocomplete function on your phone comes in handy, of course. But is it changing the way we write and... more

How do actors bring Shakespeare’s lines to life so that modern audiences immediately understand the text? One way is to... more

If you skip wearing underwear, you’re said to be going commando. This bit of slang originated during the Vietnam War,... more

Stunt performers in movies have their own jargon for talking about their dangerous work. In New York City, the slang... more

Crossword puzzles are a marvelous mental workout. A delightful new book about them shares plenty of crossword lore and puzzle-solving... more

We asked for your thoughts about whether cursive writing should be taught in schools — and many of you replied... more

Secret signals on the job: Waitresses at some 19th-century restaurants ensured speedy drink service by communicating with a non-verbal code.... more

If someone urges you to spill the tea, they probably don’t want you tipping over a hot beverage. Originally, the tea here was... more

When you had sleepovers as a child, what did you call the makeshift beds you made on the floor? In... more

During the late 19th and early 20th century, thousands of volunteers helped crowdsource the Oxford English Dictionary. This venerable reference work... more

Jacuzzi and silhouette are eponyms — that is, they derive from the names of people. An Italian immigrant to California invented the bubbly... more

The emotional appeal of handwriting and the emotional reveal of animal phrases. Should children be taught cursive writing in school,... more

If you speak both German and Spanish, you may find yourself reaching for a German word instead of a Spanish... more

Chances are you recognize the expressions Judgment Day and root of all evil as phrases from the Bible. There are many others, such as the powers... more