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I still have a “dream” (repost)
Fifty years ago today, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. In honor of the great leader we lost far too soon, I wanted to repost a piece* on the origin of a word whose legacy is indelibly his: dream. Read more.
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Mesomerica, squirrels, and puffy leather bags: an etymological Easter basket
Did you get any chocolate bunnies or eggs in your Easter basket—or just a bunch of black jellybeans as some sort of April Fools’ prank? Well, I’ve got you covered with plenty of timely etymological goodies for this double holiday. Read more.
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Taking an etymological “census”
The Trump administration has added a controversial citizenship question to the 2020 US census. Opponents have quickly criticized and sued over the move, arguing it will deter immigrants from responding, not only resulting in an accurate count of the population but also violating the very US constitution. Let’s survey the origin of census. Read more.
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Trimming back the etymological “mustache”
All eyes on John Bolton…’s mustache. The former US ambassador to the UN is now Donald Trump’s third National Security Advisor. Political observers are quick to comment on Bolton’s hawkish foreign policy—and quip on his bristly whiskers. Read more.
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Catch up with Mashed Radish
This past week has been a kind of High Holidays of etymological trivia. March 14th marked Pi Day: The Greek letter pi (Π, π) comes down from the Semitic Pe (𐤐), believed to originate as a pictogram of a little mouth.🥧🥧 #PiDay #Etymology — John Kelly 🕳️🐇 (@mashedradish) March 14, 2017 Pi Day inevitably makes Read more.
Mashed Radish 