Mashed Radish

Mashed Radish

Etymology at the intersection of news, life, and everyday language.

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  • From “to” to “too”

    A trend has spread on social media following the many and disturbing allegations of sexual assault and rape against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein: me too, which tens of thousands women are posting to express that they, too, have been assaulted or harassed. The little word, too, so simply yet powerfully bringing attention to how pervasive,… Read more.

    John Kelly
    October 17, 2017
    Feature

  • “Superstition”: an unlucky etymology?

    It’s Friday the 13th—a day of bad luck, if you are superstitious person, and a great occasion to look at the origin of the word superstition. Read more.

    John Kelly
    October 13, 2017
    Feature

  • “Stunt”: a real “stumper” of an etymology

    After some players took a knee during the national anthem, US Vice President Mike Pence abruptly left a football game between the Indianapolis Colts and San Francisco 49ers this Sunday. But many aren’t seeing his move as a un-dignifying departure—but a political stunt, a word whose ultimate origins are, shall we say, a bit stunted. Read more.

    John Kelly
    October 10, 2017
    Feature

  • Under the etymological “gun”

    Gun. It’s such a cruelly simple word for a terrorizing technology that is senselessly and needlessly claiming too many American lives—59 alone, as we witnessed in the horrific massacre in Las Vegas this week. Where does this deadly word derive from? Read more.

    John Kelly
    October 3, 2017
    Feature

  • Make Puerto Rico “Rich” Again

    On the blog, I normally zoom in on words that are hogging our headlines. This post, though, I’m stuck on a word—two actually, and a proper noun at that—that have been far too much neglected. I’m talking about Puerto Rico, where millions of Americans are struggling to survive the devastating blow of Hurricane Maria. Read more.

    John Kelly
    September 29, 2017
    Feature

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Mashed Radish

Mashed Radish

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