Mashed Radish

Mashed Radish

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

  • About
  • Browse
  • Contact


  • “Sequoia”: a giant-sized controversy

    Earlier this week, heavy storms and flooding toppled the famous Pioneer Cabin Tree, a giant sequoia whose trunk cars once drove through, in California’s Calaveras Big Trees State Park. Before it was carved out in the 1880s to attract tourists, a forest fire had already hollowed out part of its trunk, apparently resembling a log Read more.

    John Kelly
    January 10, 2017
    Uncategorized

  • “Names in the News” at Nameberry

    Guest-blogging on Nameberry  Back in September, I started guest-blogging on Nameberry, a leading baby name website created by name experts Pamela Redmond Satran and Linda Rosenkrantz. Alongside an active forum, thematic lists of baby names, and a daily blog, Nameberry features a searchable database of over 50,000 names, including trends on their popularity. As a Read more.

    John Kelly
    January 7, 2017
    Uncategorized

  • New Year’s “resolutions”: an etymology not meant to last

    “New year, new me,” as so many of us are starting out 2017, resolved to lose weight, save money, or variously better ourselves and lives. Historians trace the practice of making self-improving resolutions in observance of the new year all the way back to ancient Babylon. But why do we call them resolutions? Resolution The Read more.

    John Kelly
    January 3, 2017
    Uncategorized

  • The “best” and “worst” of 2016

    As the new year fast approaches, we like to look back on the best – and worst – of the previous year. Twenty-sixteen did great work of the latter category, which is why I chose 2016 as the ‘word’ of the year on Slate. But why is best called “best” and what makes worst “worst”? Read more.

    John Kelly
    December 30, 2016
    Uncategorized

  • The 2016 “Etymology of the Year”

    The mouth of Donald Trump excited a tremendous – er, huge – amount of etymological activity on Mashed Radish in 2016. But there’s one that easily trumped them all: the word trump itself, the winner of my first annual “Etymology of the Year.” Trump In early modern English, trump meant “to cheat” or “deceive.” This Read more.

    John Kelly
    December 27, 2016
    Etymology of the Year

←Previous Page
1 … 47 48 49 50 51 … 113
Next Page→
Mashed Radish

Mashed Radish

About

Browse

Contact

© John Kelly 2024

  • Subscribe Subscribed
    • Mashed Radish
    • Join 11,085 other subscribers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Mashed Radish
    • Subscribe Subscribed
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar