Archive

Dive into a collection of past posts and rediscover timeless content.

Word of the week

There's a German word for weight you gained from sadness

Sep 28, 2026

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1 min read

There's a German word for weight you gained from sadness

The excess weight a person puts on from emotional overeating: the biscuits after a breakup, the takeaway after a bad month.

Learning languages

Why you understand your teacher but not real people

Sep 24, 2026

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1 min read

Why you understand your teacher but not real people

Linguists call it foreigner-directed speech. A register native speakers slip into automatically when they think the listener is struggling

Hieroglyphs were unreadable for 1,400 years. One man broke them in 14.

Sep 21, 2026

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1 min read

Hieroglyphs were unreadable for 1,400 years. One man broke them in 14.

Everyone was looking for symbols. He was the only one listening for sounds.

There's a British way of saying no that sounds exactly like yes

Sep 17, 2026

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1 min read

There's a British way of saying no that sounds exactly like yes

"That's very interesting" is not a compliment. Here's the translation table.

There's a Filipino word for what puppies do to your brain

Sep 14, 2026

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2 min read

There's a Filipino word for what puppies do to your brain

Gigil: the overwhelming urge to squeeze the adorable

Sep 7, 2026

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2 min read

There's a Georgian word for eating the whole thing by accident

You didn't mean to. The language knows you didn't mean to.

There's a Scottish word for that moment you forget someone's name

Aug 24, 2026

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2 min read

There's a Scottish word for that moment you forget someone's name

Tartle: the split-second panic Scotland kindly named

Why a German girl is neuter but a turnip isn't

Aug 20, 2026

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1 min read

Why a German girl is neuter but a turnip isn't

Grammatical gender: the system that makes no sense — until it suddenly does

Give up, give in, give out, give over: why English does this to you

Aug 19, 2026

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1 min read

Give up, give in, give out, give over: why English does this to you

Phrasal verbs: the real final boss of English (and the only way to beat them)

There's a Spanish word for the best part of the meal (it isn't food)

Aug 17, 2026

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2 min read

There's a Spanish word for the best part of the meal (it isn't food)

Sobremesa: when the plates are empty and nobody moves

Archive

Dive into a collection of past posts and rediscover timeless content.

There's a German word for weight you gained from sadness

Why you understand your teacher but not real people

Hieroglyphs were unreadable for 1,400 years. One man broke them in 14.

There's a British way of saying no that sounds exactly like yes

There's a Filipino word for what puppies do to your brain

There's a Georgian word for eating the whole thing by accident

There's a Scottish word for that moment you forget someone's name

Why a German girl is neuter but a turnip isn't

Give up, give in, give out, give over: why English does this to you

There's a Spanish word for the best part of the meal (it isn't food)

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