An exonym is a name given to people, places, or languages by an outside source. A clear example is the Berber people of Africa, who were named after “barbaria,” which is the Greek word for “land of the barbarians” and referred to all non-Greek nations.
You have likely heard the term “saving face” in regards to maintaining some sort of dignity or reputation following a negative event. The sociologist Erving Goffman borrowed from the previously informal phrase for […]
The second installment of 10 Weird Words, featuring the vulgar history of wuss and the founding of Adidas by Nazis.
Sinister: from the Latin “left” because of the evil connotations of omens “on the left,” emphasized further by Latin Mass. Adds a fun layer to the hyper-Christian, left-handed Ned Flanders and the title character of “Dexter,” the Latin word designating the right-handed, good omens.
Have you ever asked someone to repeat themselves, only to realize that you suddenly know what they said? Read something without realizing a word was repeated or misspelled? Heard words in an instrumental song?
“I always enjoyed watching Bill Clinton dial up his southern-fried accent as needed for a barbecue or down for a speech to the United Nations. But I cringed just as much watching Hillary Clinton try to do the same.”
The Layman's Linguist 