The First Meaning of ‘Crush’ Came Long Before a ‘First Crush’
The term “girl” came into popular usage in England in the 1880s to describe working-class unmarried women who occupied an emerging social space between childhood and adulthood. Not quite a child, she was childlike in that she had yet to become a wife or mother, the type of modern urbanite who engaged in “frivolous” pursuits like consumption, leisur
... See moreAshley Mears • Very Important People: Status and Beauty in the Global Party Circuit
Words have always changed meaning, and the internet has only accelerated this process.
James Greig • Love bombing, gaslighting, and the problem with pathologising dating talk
Originally, a geek was the objectionable character in a circus sideshow whose talent primarily consisted of biting the heads off chickens or eating bugs down in the “geek pit.”11 And the literal meaning of dork is “penis” (first used in 1961 to the best of my knowledge)12—not something most tasteful people would discuss in civilized conversation.
Dr. Frank Luntz • Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear
Enough people savored that good feeling that after a while, adorable meant something more specific than admired: it came to mean “charming,” pleasing in a way associated with that which is little, immature, inferior, or dear to us. (The intersection between those four traits is, in itself, vaguely alarming!) Curious George is adorable; the Statue o
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