Tag: language

• 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”?…

  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…

  John Kelly

  December 27, 2016

  Etymology of the Year

• The true meaning of “Kris Kringle”

  The Santa Claus figure, who brings children gifts each Christmas in many Western cultures, goes by many names: Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Pere Noel, Grandfather Frost, to name a few. But one name, Kris Kringle, doesn’t originally refer to any Santa at all.  Kris Kringle The Oxford English Dictionary first attests Kris Kringle in James…

  John Kelly

  December 20, 2016

  Uncategorized

• The original “Mannequin” Challenge

  For all its motionlessness, the Mannequin Challenge has really had some legs. Since early October, the viral trend, which films people frozen in various poses as if mannequins, has taken over our social media feeds – and workspaces and public places. But why are mannequins called mannequins? That’s a challenge for etymology.     Little…

  John Kelly

  December 12, 2016

  Uncategorized

• “Orbit”: Of the earth, out of this world

  John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, left Earth yesterday at the age of 95. In his honor, let’s gaze at orbit – a word whose origin turns out to be much more down to earth. Leaving a mark As part of Project Mercury, John Glenn orbited Earth three times aboard the Friendship 7…

  John Kelly

  December 9, 2016

  Uncategorized