User Daniel

57 votes

10 answers

82k views

"Eat" is to "feed" as "drink" is to what?

asked Aug 2, 2011 at 16:59

52 votes

9 answers

18k views

Why is there no plural indefinite article?

asked Jul 23, 2011 at 16:00

47 votes

6 answers

135k views

Is there a gender-neutral word for "aunts and uncles"/"parents' siblings"?

asked Jun 22, 2011 at 15:09

42 votes

7 answers

26k views

"For all it's worth" or "for all its worth"?

asked Aug 14, 2014 at 3:57

41 votes

8 answers

218k views

How did "sinister", the Latin word for "left-handed", get its current meaning?

asked Aug 23, 2011 at 23:02

38 votes

5 answers

45k views

Why are "sugar" and "sure" pronounced with an SH?

asked Jul 8, 2011 at 22:24

31 votes

3 answers

44k views

Why does "for good" mean "forever"?

asked Sep 5, 2011 at 18:39

28 votes

8 answers

24k views

Where did the expression "my two cents" come from?

asked Jul 5, 2011 at 14:23

27 votes

4 answers

6k views

Why is it true that "I before E, except after C"?

asked Jul 15, 2011 at 1:03

26 votes

5 answers

7k views

"A whole nother" way of looking at things

asked Jul 7, 2011 at 11:55

25 votes

3 answers

46k views

Why does the ending -ough have six pronunciations?

asked Jun 28, 2011 at 23:44

24 votes

6 answers

152k views

"Clean as a whistle" — why is a whistle considered appropriate for describing cleanliness?

asked Jul 15, 2011 at 14:13

24 votes

3 answers

22k views

What reasoning is behind the names of the trigonometric functions "sine", "secant" and "tangent"?

asked Sep 1, 2011 at 20:04

20 votes

9 answers

27k views

What is the origin of "hissy fit"?

asked Sep 3, 2011 at 22:46

20 votes

13 answers

31k views

What's an idiom for doing something in an unnecessarily complicated way?

asked Sep 26, 2011 at 21:16

20 votes

2 answers

32k views

Why is "sergeant" pronounced "sargent"?

asked Jan 23, 2012 at 1:34

20 votes

3 answers

10k views

Where did the "ue" in "tongue" come from?

asked Jul 6, 2011 at 1:51

19 votes

7 answers

29k views

Where did "There, there" (in consoling) come from?

asked Jul 7, 2011 at 20:49

19 votes

4 answers

14k views

Where did the word "umpteenth" come from?

asked Jul 20, 2011 at 17:17

18 votes

2 answers

1k views

Is there a word for having more than ten fingers?

asked Sep 26, 2011 at 17:22

17 votes

3 answers

12k views

Why is Ukraine often called "the Ukraine"? [duplicate]

asked Feb 21, 2012 at 17:08

17 votes

1 answer

4k views

Where did the names of English letters come from, and why are they all monosyllabic (except for "w")? [duplicate]

asked Aug 10, 2011 at 2:46

17 votes

4 answers

13k views

Why does the name 'John' have an 'h' in it?

asked Jun 22, 2011 at 12:37

17 votes

3 answers

56k views

Origin of "man!", "(oh) boy!", and "oh brother"

asked Jun 25, 2011 at 11:08

16 votes

5 answers

12k views

Where did the phrase "used to" come from?

asked Jul 4, 2011 at 14:08

16 votes

2 answers

37k views

Why is "plaid" pronounced "plad"?

asked Aug 2, 2011 at 1:03

16 votes

1 answer

4k views

If we say "Socrates", "Hippocrates", etc, why don't we say "Aristoteles"? Why "Aristotle"?

asked Aug 5, 2011 at 22:26

16 votes

2 answers

8k views

Why is "margarine" pronounced with a soft "g"?

asked Jul 29, 2011 at 11:55

16 votes

3 answers

4k views

Why is “Saturday” Romanic?

asked Sep 14, 2011 at 0:12

16 votes

2 answers

26k views

Why does gasoline have the word "gas" in it, if it's never gaseous?

asked Aug 28, 2011 at 21:28

Stack Exchange Network

133 Questions

"Eat" is to "feed" as "drink" is to what?

Why is there no plural indefinite article?

Is there a gender-neutral word for "aunts and uncles"/"parents' siblings"?

"For all it's worth" or "for all its worth"?

How did "sinister", the Latin word for "left-handed", get its current meaning?

Why are "sugar" and "sure" pronounced with an SH?

Why does "for good" mean "forever"?

Where did the expression "my two cents" come from?

Why is it true that "I before E, except after C"?

"A whole nother" way of looking at things

Why does the ending -ough have six pronunciations?

"Clean as a whistle" — why is a whistle considered appropriate for describing cleanliness?

What reasoning is behind the names of the trigonometric functions "sine", "secant" and "tangent"?

What is the origin of "hissy fit"?

What's an idiom for doing something in an unnecessarily complicated way?

Why is "sergeant" pronounced "sargent"?

Where did the "ue" in "tongue" come from?

Where did "There, there" (in consoling) come from?

Where did the word "umpteenth" come from?

Is there a word for having more than ten fingers?

Why is Ukraine often called "the Ukraine"? [duplicate]

Where did the names of English letters come from, and why are they all monosyllabic (except for "w")? [duplicate]

Why does the name 'John' have an 'h' in it?

Origin of "man!", "(oh) boy!", and "oh brother"

Where did the phrase "used to" come from?

Why is "plaid" pronounced "plad"?

If we say "Socrates", "Hippocrates", etc, why don't we say "Aristoteles"? Why "Aristotle"?

Why is "margarine" pronounced with a soft "g"?

Why is “Saturday” Romanic?

Why does gasoline have the word "gas" in it, if it's never gaseous?