Tag Archives: history

Okay! OK! O.K.! Ok?

Posted on January 29, 2013 by

You are, no doubt, familiar with OK. These two strung-together letters have made one of the world’s most commonly used words. Today we’re going to learn the origin of this universal term for all right, sure, and fine and which … Continue reading →

Posted in copy editing, etymology, style issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Teetotaler

Posted on January 3, 2013 by

“Veteran drudge” of The Baltimore Sun newspaper, John E. McIntyre, recently blogged a list of slang words for being drunk: schnockered shellacked snozzled soused Lots of S words, apparently. But what about slang for the opposite end of the imbibing spectrum? … Continue reading →

Posted in etymology | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Severe weather etymology

Posted on October 30, 2012 by

I have previously written about the etymology of tsunami. Today we are delving into the history of words for other serious weather systems. Note: I received all my information from the Online Etymology Dictionary—an amazing, exhaustive resource that I strongly … Continue reading →

Posted in etymology, foreign language, in the news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Let’s veterinarian this word

Posted on April 13, 2012 by

Earlier this week, I got an out-of-the blue phone call from a friend calling from his work. He was wondering how to spell vet when used in the sense of methodically considering a person or idea. I’m not perfect and … Continue reading →

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The King James Bible gave English some awesome phrases

Posted on December 2, 2011 by

Regardless of your faith, or lack thereof, it is simply astonishing to learn the number of common English phrases that come from the King James Bible. “A drop in the bucket,” “the root of the matter,” “fight the good fight,” … Continue reading →

Posted in etymology, literature | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments