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Some more Emojiology for World Emoji Day
July 17 is World Emoji Day, a celebration of all things emoji. It’s the perfect occasion to promote some writing I’ve been doing for Emojipedia, the encyclopedia for emoji—and one reason, among other word-working, the blog has been less active in recent weeks. Read more.
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An etymological tricolor: red, white, and blue
Today, Americans celebrate their brave declaration of independence from British rule on July 4th, 1776 with plenty of red, white, and blue, the colors of its star-spangled banner. As a nickname for the flag of the United States, the red, white, and blue is found by 1853. But what about those individuals words red, white,… Read more.
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Pulling apart “separation”
This week, US President Donald Trump’s policy of separating families seeking asylum at the US-Mexico border, well, separated our hearts. We’ve seen the cruel ironies of etymology on this blog before. The word separate, alas, is no exception. Read more.
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“Raccoon”: an etymological show of hands?
Earlier this week, a raccoon dramatically scaled a skyscraper in St. Paul, Minnesota. Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) captured the event—and the attention and hearts of the internet. The #MPRRaccoon, as it came to be called, eventually summited the building, where it was caught and released into the wild, but not before going viral first. I… Read more.
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The etymological routes of “trade”
At the G7 summit in Canada this week, Donald Trump’s recent tariffs are sparking unprecedented trade disputes with some of the US’s closest allies. We considered the origins of tariff not long back on the blog (and embargo well before it). But how about the word trade itself? It takes a path into English you… Read more.
Mashed Radish 