Language & Origins
The moth in the logbook was a joke about a word already in use
The insect taped into a 1947 logbook is real and preserved. The note beside it calls it the first actual case of a bug, which only…
Language & Origins
Word origins, invented etymologies and rules that were never rules.
21 articles · updated August 11, 2026 · page 2 of 2
Language & Origins
The X in Xmas is a Greek letter, and the objection is younger than the spelling
Scribes abbreviated the word using the first letter of a Greek name a very long time ago. The complaint that it crosses out the…
Language & Origins
Literally has meant figuratively for centuries, and the complaint is newer
The intensifying use appears in respected authors long before anyone objected to it. The dispute is a good case of a change being…
Language & Origins
Shakespeare invented far fewer words than the dictionary makes it look
The famous count comes from how many words he supplies the first recorded example of. First recorded is a fact about surviving…
Language & Origins
Sincere does not come from without wax, and the story is a good fake
The tale of sculptors filling cracks with wax is repeated in speeches and books everywhere. The Latin word does not break down the…
Language & Origins
Gringo does not come from green go home, and the dates rule it out
The backronym involves soldiers, uniforms and a chant, and it appears in several incompatible versions. The word was in Spanish…
Language & Origins
Emoji has nothing to do with emotion, and the resemblance is a coincidence
The word is Japanese and means picture character. Its similarity to an English word beginning with the same sounds is one of the…
Language & Origins
Nobody has ever found the orange clay that piggy banks are named after
The story about a potter's clay called pygg is repeated in every account of the money box. No dictionary records the word, and…
Language & Origins
The exception that proves the rule is a legal maxim, not a word game
The popular fix says that prove once meant test. The better-supported explanation is that a stated exception implies a rule…