User Daniel

3 votes

3 answers

4k views

Why do "able" and "haste" have long a's?

asked Aug 4, 2011 at 0:56

13 votes

4 answers

74k views

Why doesn't "ninth" have an "e", like "ninety"?

asked Aug 4, 2011 at 11:58

8 votes

2 answers

2k views

Why has "sware" become "swore", "bare" "bore", etc?

asked Jan 13, 2012 at 1:53

21 votes

2 answers

32k views

Why is "sergeant" pronounced "sargent"?

asked Jan 23, 2012 at 1:34

13 votes

7 answers

14k views

Why are reveries sometimes called "brown" studies?

asked Jul 14, 2011 at 14:32

4 votes

3 answers

4k views

Are all officially recognized Scrabble words English?

asked Jun 30, 2011 at 0:28

1 vote

4 answers

1k views

Why does my spellchecker vindicate "floccinaucinihilipilification"?

asked Jun 21, 2011 at 15:59

22 votes

13 answers

35k views

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

asked Sep 26, 2011 at 21:16

11 votes

4 answers

18k views

Why does "air conditioning" always mean "cooling" and never "heating"?

asked Oct 6, 2011 at 0:03

8 votes

4 answers

11k views

Is there a difference between "continual" and "continuous"?

asked Jul 8, 2011 at 12:48

9 votes

3 answers

25k views

"He acted strange(ly?)"

asked Jul 2, 2011 at 13:08

12 votes

3 answers

36k views

Why is "sherbet" pronounced "sherbert" so much?

asked Jul 6, 2011 at 1:41

13 votes

5 answers

14k views

Why do some adjectives follow the nouns they modify?

asked Sep 18, 2011 at 21:59

24 votes

6 answers

155k views

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

asked Jul 15, 2011 at 14:13

41 votes

8 answers

222k views

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

asked Aug 23, 2011 at 23:02

4 votes

3 answers

3k views

Where did the expression "every last one" come from?

asked Jul 12, 2011 at 11:56

57 votes

10 answers

89k views

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

asked Aug 2, 2011 at 16:59

17 votes

3 answers

12k views

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

asked Feb 21, 2012 at 17:08

5 votes

6 answers

11k views

Is it affected to pronounce the "h" in wh- words such as "what"?

asked Jul 4, 2011 at 21:39

4 votes

2 answers

47k views

Where did the slang usages of "cool" come from?

asked Sep 23, 2011 at 19:08

4 votes

3 answers

22k views

Where did the word "alphabet" come from?

asked Jul 7, 2011 at 19:55

19 votes

7 answers

32k views

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

asked Jul 7, 2011 at 20:49

6 votes

6 answers

23k views

What can I call a person who directs traffic?

asked Dec 31, 2011 at 1:52

4 votes

3 answers

1k views

Why do exciting things "rock"?

asked Aug 28, 2011 at 23:21

4 votes

1 answer

28k views

Why is "lawyer" widely pronounced "loyer"?

asked Oct 20, 2011 at 18:22

12 votes

1 answer

14k views

Why is "bade" pronounced "bad"?

asked Aug 27, 2011 at 23:58

11 votes

1 answer

34k views

Why is "victuals" pronounced "vittles"?

asked Jul 7, 2011 at 17:26

17 votes

4 answers

14k views

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

asked Jun 22, 2011 at 12:37

16 votes

1 answer

5k views

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

asked Aug 5, 2011 at 22:26

8 votes

3 answers

2k views

Why do we call some full moons "blue" when they're not?

asked Sep 29, 2011 at 17:33

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133 Questions

Why do "able" and "haste" have long a's?

Why doesn't "ninth" have an "e", like "ninety"?

Why has "sware" become "swore", "bare" "bore", etc?

Why is "sergeant" pronounced "sargent"?

Why are reveries sometimes called "brown" studies?

Are all officially recognized Scrabble words English?

Why does my spellchecker vindicate "floccinaucinihilipilification"?

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

Why does "air conditioning" always mean "cooling" and never "heating"?

Is there a difference between "continual" and "continuous"?

"He acted strange(ly?)"

Why is "sherbet" pronounced "sherbert" so much?

Why do some adjectives follow the nouns they modify?

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

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

Where did the expression "every last one" come from?

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

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

Is it affected to pronounce the "h" in wh- words such as "what"?

Where did the slang usages of "cool" come from?

Where did the word "alphabet" come from?

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

What can I call a person who directs traffic?

Why do exciting things "rock"?

Why is "lawyer" widely pronounced "loyer"?

Why is "bade" pronounced "bad"?

Why is "victuals" pronounced "vittles"?

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

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

Why do we call some full moons "blue" when they're not?