This weekend, kids everywhere will be hoping for a visit from The Easter Bunny, a friendly rabbit who leaves delightful gifts for kids to enjoy on Easter morning. But why is it not called “The Easter RABBIT”? I mean, as far as animal name abbreviations go, “doggy” for dog makes sense. As does “kitty” for…
On the heels of this year’s Oscars ceremony, where so many “box office blockbusters” were honored, have you ever wondered where the term “box office” originated? You couldn’t be blamed for thinking it sprouted from the box-like nature of many old-fashioned box offices, which were enclosed, detached booths situated just outside theaters…but you’d still be…
Now that the 2nd month of the year is almost over, let’s address a common issue: just how is the month we’re in supposed to be pronounced? Here in the US, the most common pronunciation of the word is “FEB-yoo-air-ee.” Both The Merriam-Webster Dictionary & The American Heritage Dictionary consider the common pronunciation correct, along…
People may not burn their favorite music onto Compact Discs anymore, but one thing’s for sure: discs will always be a thing. But how is it supposed to be spelled? Is it “disc” or “disk”? A “disc” can be any round, flat object. But…so can a “disk”. So, how exactly are you supposed to know…
Whenever people start talking about “ringing in the New Year”, you’ll usually hear them talk about doing so with things like a kiss, a toast, a New Year’s resolution, a movie marathon, or an entire dozen donuts all to themselves. But when you think about it…none of those things ring, do they? So, why do…
You probably had eggnog over Christmas. (Heck, you probably still have some eggnog leftover in your fridge right now). But while it’s definitely delicious, why is it called “eggnog”? The “egg” part doesn’t really need an explanation, does it? Eggs are the foundation of eggnog, with their yolks usually being combined with other elements like…
Once folks regained consciousness following their turkey coma on the day after Thanksgiving, a large majority of them did what so many red-blooded Americans have done through the years: they went shopping. Last year alone, shoppers spent a record $9.12 billion just in online shopping on “Black Friday”, with that single day bolstering the bottom…
Here in America (or “the colonies”, as our relatives across the pond once called it), it’s not out of the ordinary for folks to use the terms “British” & “English” interchangeably when talking about anything related to the empire that gave us such prized gems as William Shakespeare, The Mini (both Skirt & Car), and…
You’ve probably heard the term “Roger that”. It’s a widespread way of providing confirmation, whether that be between truckers on their CB radios, kids playing with walkie-talkies, or even folks talking face to face. But while it’s easy to use the phrase & understand what it means, have you ever wondered where it came from?…
If anyone’s ever tried to give you a false answer to an earnest question, they may have followed up their response with “I’m just joshing ya!” But who is this Josh fellow, and why do folks invoke his name when trying to pull the wool over our eyes? The phrase “just joshing you” arose out…