play video title words of the year 1066
Word History

Words of the Year: 1066

Why is pig meat called 'pork' and cow meat called 'beef?' Because English took on a big serving of French words following the Norman Conquest.


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play video title words of the year 1066
Words of the Year: 1066

 

English was never the same after the Norman Conquest

play serial comma
The Serial Comma Explained

 

Why don't they call it the Merriam-Webster comma?

play hanger-hangar-illustrations
Is It 'Hanger' or 'Hangar'?

 

How to remember which is which

play backward index mystery
The True Story of the Backward Index

 

These people needed a computer

play contractions
On Contractions of Multiple Words

 

You all would not have guessed some of these

play video who vs whom
Who vs. Whom

 

Good news for those who feel stuffy saying 'whom.'

play sneaked vs snuck video
Sneaked vs. Snuck

 

How the irregular 'snuck' sneaked into the dictionary