Blog
Eager for more than just a spoonful? Sate your hunger for knowledge with our best blog articles.
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November 3, 2026
What happens to the uneaten restaurant food? Discover the truth
The restaurant business has developed its own slang to simplify communication between coworkers and keep customers undisturbed. But when you hear servers yelling words like "86," "kill it," or "fire it up," it's only natural to feel intrigued. Have you ever heard that a table was full of "campers"? Or that a meal was considered "dead food"? Keep reading and discover which meanings lie behind those enigmatic terms. Read more -
November 2, 2026
Journalism's oldest tricks: discover what lies behind the newsroom lingo
Iconic movies like All the President's Men (1976) and Spotlight (2015) made us feel like the newsroom was the most exciting place to be, chasing down the most controversial stories and giving the world a chance to know them. And a lot of the time, that really is the exceptional side of a journalist's job. Other times, it's just as bureaucratic and monotonous as any other job out there. Are you a journalism expert? Discover the real meanings behind the newsroom lingo. Read more -
November 1, 2026
We still use "crooner" and 9 other expressions the radio gave us
Once, families gathered around the radio, not a television set. Broadcasting the news, music, and comedy, radio shows changed how people spent their evenings, but also how they talked. Terms like "crooner," "jingle," "payola," or even whole concepts like "the $64,000 question" all originated in radio stations. Here are 10 stories of words born during the last 100 years. Read more -
October 31, 2026
She lived to 104, but one child's question changed her life forever
The story of a cat in a red-and-white hat, a spider who saved a pig, and a classic written with just 50 words. Add a World War II mapmaker, a children’s author behind a hit song for Johnny Cash, and a librarian inspired by a boy asking for stories about "kids like us," and you get 10 surprising stories behind the books we loved when we were little. Ready to revisit these childhood favorites? Read more -
October 30, 2026
Pilots don’t say “Roger” to mean “yes.” Here’s what it really means
Every line of work has its own secret language. Pilots, nurses, actors, filmmakers, and sailors all use words and signals that mean something very specific to insiders. If you’re an outsider overhearing them, you probably wonder, "What the heck is going on?" Some of these terms are technical, some are funny, and some are just plain absurd. Take why pilots say "Roger" when they don’t mean "yes," or what "S.O.S." really stands for (spoiler: it doesn’t stand for anything). Let’s decode 10 of them. Read more -
October 29, 2026
Popular beliefs: why do we call a weakness an "Achilles' heel"?
Body terms often sound so natural that we forget how strange they really are. We have a funny bone, an Adam's apple, an Achilles' heel, wisdom teeth, and even love handles. Yet, when taken literally, these terms create some strange images. Bones can't tell jokes, teeth can't become wise, and there is no Adam stuck in our throat. But like the body, language has its functions, and sometimes it creates memorable expressions that outlast the medical terms themselves. Read on to uncover the stories behind 10 familiar expressions. Read more -
October 28, 2026
The forgotten insult for people who think they're important
Over time, certain words fall out of use, and some can sound kind of funny to us today. Did you know you could say "crapulous" when feeling ill after eating or drinking? Or call someone a "cockalorum" when they’re full of themselves? And these are just the beginning. From nouns to verbs to adjectives, these 10 forgotten old words will make your day. Read more -
October 27, 2026
10 words you already know, but probably never thought about this way
A word like "buzz" can bring a sound to mind, while "squish" can almost make you feel something soft under your fingers. You’ve probably been using these words your whole life without realizing how unusual they are: they don’t just describe an experience; they seem to recreate part of it through their sound and form. These fascinating words are called "ideophones," and they can capture everything from movement and texture to sound or light. Here are 10 surprising facts about the words you already know, but probably never thought about this way. Read more -
October 26, 2026
Why did Red Bull's famous slogan cost the company $13 million?
Some slogans are so catchy that you could probably finish them in your sleep. "Have a break, have a…" But what's the story behind these iconic phrases? Did you know Red Bull's famous slogan cost the company millions of dollars? And how did Mastercard, a company built around spending money, create one of its most famous campaigns around the idea that some things are priceless? The answers aren't always what you'd expect. Here are 10 famous slogans and their surprising origin stories. Read more -
October 25, 2026
10 words of Spanish origin in a cowboy’s vocabulary
The world of cowboys and rodeos is filled with terms of Spanish origin. While it comes as no surprise that Spanish vocabulary has a strong presence in the American South, considering the history and the geography of the region, some of these words are more than a linguistic loan, and they tell us about a shared history of cattle rearing and of the cultural exchange of the frontier towns. Let’s look at some cowboy lingo that came from Spanish. Read more -
October 24, 2026
The time the Rolling Stones wrote one of the deepest thoughts ever sung
Paul Anka was terrified when he sat down to write the lyrics for a song that Frank Sinatra would be singing. Jokingly, he started with a dramatic, "And now, the end is near…" The rest is history. Who are the people who pen the words that others will spend decades repeating? How did they come up with words so precise and true that listeners would compare them with those of great philosophers? Here are 10 of people’s favorite lyrics of all time, decoded. Read more -
October 23, 2026
Why did Harry Truman put "The Buck Stops Here" on his desk?
American presidents have used the White House to sway public opinion, pass legislation, and define historic eras. Along the way, their public speeches, press conferences, and private correspondence have introduced, popularized, or forever transformed English vocabulary. Here are 10 everyday words, idioms, and expressions you didn’t know were coined by the most prominent leaders of our nation. Read more -
October 22, 2026
This literary character had a front-page obituary in the New York Times
Many literary characters have transcended their stories, a few of them becoming universal archetypes. But despite beign known by all, readers continue to learn new things about their favorite characters. Who was the inspiration for Shelock Holmes? What famous wizard was named after a cabinet drawer? Which famous playwright coined the name "Jessica"? Here are 10 facts about famous characters that you might not know. Read more -
October 21, 2026
Why was blue blood a sign of nobility? The real story
Have you ever wondered why rich families are called "blue bloods," or why movie stars walk on a red carpet and not carpets of another color? The answers go back hundreds of years, to castles, crowns, and even a Viking king. Here are 10 everyday expressions with intriguing royal roots. Read more -
October 20, 2026
Are Parmesan and Parmigiano Reggiano the same thing?
Champagne, Parmesan, Dijon-–these are all names that instantly make us think about specific products, but have we actually tried them? Maybe, if the products in question came from specific parts of France or Italy. Many names we use for common things are actually geographical markers or protected designations of origin (PDO) —meaning that they can only be used for products elaborated in a specific part of the world— or fall under a similar legal label. Here are some PDOs that we use constantly, and some so common that they have become generic. Read more -
October 19, 2026
What in tarnation?! How can a word be a fossil?
You use them every single day: "without further ado," "to no avail," "at your beck and call." But do you know what "ado" actually means, or who’s doing the "beckoning"? Like many others, these are fossil words, pieces of language that vanished from everyday English centuries ago, except for one lucky phrase that kept them alive. Some come from Shakespeare, some from Old English assemblies, and one even comes from a word for murderous rage. These 10 everyday expressions have some wonderfully strange stories behind them. Read more -
October 12, 2026
What is that "YKK" that you see on your zippers? 10 codes explained
Have you noticed "YKK" stamped on your zippers or that "RSVP" on an invitation? What does the mysterious "SSSS" on your boarding pass mean? These little letters and codes are everywhere, but if you stop and think about it, there are plenty whose meaning we don’t really know. Behind many of them are surprising stories, foreign languages, old technologies, and even a few myths. Here are 10 everyday codes and abbreviations you’ve probably seen countless times without knowing what they actually mean. Read more -
October 11, 2026
In its Latin origin, this compliment was an insult
Words of Latin origin abound in the English language, many of them with an original meaning quite similar to the current one. But some words, however, might surprise us when we look up their etymology. What does being genuine have to do with your knees? Which word comes from people gossiping in a street corner? Which compliment started as an insult? Here are 10 unexpected Latin etymologies. Read more -
October 10, 2026
These 10 literary masterpieces were inspired by real children
Peter Pan, Alice, Christopher Robin, and even the four March sisters have something in common: they wouldn’t exist today if real-life children hadn’t inspired 10 renowned writers to immortalize them. A restless girl on a rowboat, a 5-year-old stuck in bed with scarlet fever, or a 12-year-old with a box of watercolors and nothing to do on a rainy afternoon were some of them. Here are 10 stories of real kids behind the books we never forgot. Read more -
October 9, 2026
Why do the U.S. and the U.K. use different names for the same foods?
Even though we speak the same language as the Brits, walking into a grocery store across the pond can feel like learning a whole new code. Why do we use completely different terms for the exact same thing? Setting aside cooking and recipes, it all comes down to centuries of history, different language roots, immigration, and old trade roots. Here is the fascinating story behind the word origins that drove these transatlantic food names apart. Read more