The First Meaning of ‘Crush’ Came Long Before a ‘First Crush’
The expression “turn of the century” didn’t exist until the twentieth. Now, finally, the Future was becoming an object of interest.
James Gleick • Time Travel: A History
In about the 13th century, we first get “like” in our language and it is a verb. Then around the 15th and 16th centuries, we start to use it in similes. And then around the 16th century, you start using it as a conjunction, where instead of just being between two objects, you’re expressing similarity between an object and a whole sentence: “He rode... See more
Jonquilyn Hill • Why do we say “like,” like, all the time?
As this excerpt shows, coverage of the French races had introduced the French word automobile into the English language—a much less unwieldy term than horseless carriage. But not everyone wanted to use it. The Horseless Age preferred motor vehicle, a choice it defended on the basis that motor could be combined with other existing words to describe
... See moreTom Standage • A Brief History of Motion: From the Wheel, to the Car, to What Comes Next
“Flamingo is a … what’s the word?” She made a fist and knocked her knuckles lightly on her forehead. Finally, she snapped her fingers and said, “A transvestite!”