User coleopterist

39 votes

4 answers

14k views

How and when did American spelling supersede British spelling in the US?

asked Oct 24, 2012 at 15:49

30 votes

6 answers

25k views

Hip Hip Hooray!

etymology history acronyms interjections

asked Jul 25, 2012 at 21:44

21 votes

5 answers

23k views

"I'm on the brew"

etymology phrases british-english slang scottish-english

asked Nov 21, 2012 at 16:18

17 votes

5 answers

65k views

Why does 'coed' only mean female coeducational students?

etymology american-english

asked Oct 19, 2012 at 15:55

14 votes

2 answers

20k views

Normans vs. Saxons: cow = beef, sheep = mutton, chicken =?

etymology history analogy food french

asked Oct 12, 2012 at 17:38

14 votes

2 answers

19k views

Pronunciation of "Celt": /kɛlt/ vs. /sɛlt/

nouns pronunciation pronunciation-vs-spelling ethnonyms

asked Dec 1, 2012 at 19:31

14 votes

1 answer

60k views

Yes, no, adverbs, and interjections

adverbs parts-of-speech interjections exclamations

asked Aug 17, 2012 at 18:27

12 votes

5 answers

14k views

Medical term for deafness

single-word-requests terminology analogy medical

asked Jul 19, 2012 at 15:10

12 votes

3 answers

51k views

Term for a person who can read but cannot write

single-word-requests terminology

asked Oct 10, 2012 at 20:25

12 votes

6 answers

23k views

Origin of "as useful as a chocolate teapot / fireguard"

etymology phrase-origin simile

asked Feb 22, 2013 at 15:34

11 votes

6 answers

7k views

Etymology of 'ripped' as in 'ripped abs'

etymology slang

asked Jan 17, 2013 at 18:21

11 votes

4 answers

85k views

Why are Australian redheads often called 'bluey'?

slang australian-english nicknames colors

asked Jan 21, 2013 at 4:36

10 votes

2 answers

17k views

"Bust a cap" meaning and derivation

etymology expressions american-english african-american-vernacular-english

asked Oct 1, 2012 at 17:40

10 votes

3 answers

12k views

What are the components of a word called?

etymology terminology

asked Aug 4, 2012 at 6:55

10 votes

3 answers

11k views

Is "make due" now considered acceptable?

grammaticality idioms eggcorn errors

asked Sep 12, 2012 at 4:30

9 votes

5 answers

1k views

Cooking apples and cleaning ladies

grammar syntactic-analysis gerunds parts-of-speech ing

asked Oct 17, 2012 at 19:06

9 votes

6 answers

53k views

Is 'Jap' still considered an ethnic slur?

offensive-language ethnonyms

asked Nov 6, 2012 at 18:53

9 votes

5 answers

2k views

Alternative definitions of wifebeater

etymology word-usage meaning

asked Jan 30, 2013 at 19:51

9 votes

4 answers

801 views

Checked-out teenagers

meaning phrases

asked Jan 20, 2013 at 11:50

8 votes

2 answers

5k views

Pedlar vs. peddler

etymology orthography suffixes agent-noun-suffix

asked Nov 19, 2012 at 16:25

8 votes

4 answers

18k views

French Letters and condoms

etymology british-english euphemisms

asked Jan 10, 2013 at 16:55

8 votes

1 answer

10k views

Different types of whistling

single-word-requests phrase-requests terminology music

asked Jan 6, 2013 at 19:29

8 votes

4 answers

4k views

Why is the colour green associated with both growth and illness?

etymology colors

asked Oct 2, 2012 at 19:15

7 votes

4 answers

2k views

Use of American-Indian "How" in British English

british-english speech metaphors books

asked Sep 5, 2012 at 20:27

7 votes

2 answers

297 views

Old (professional) Adam

meaning expressions books

asked Sep 6, 2012 at 17:21

7 votes

2 answers

656 views

Do ‘und’ and ‘till’ make “until” a tautology?

etymology till-until

asked Aug 4, 2012 at 20:49

7 votes

3 answers

836 views

"He rolled his toilet things into his housewife"

etymology terminology history synecdoche

asked Dec 27, 2012 at 18:25

7 votes

5 answers

9k views

Losing bottles and bottling out

etymology british-english usage

asked Mar 4, 2013 at 10:19

6 votes

4 answers

9k views

What is the difference between a "prefix" and a "combining form"?

differences terminology prefixes compounds affixes

asked Jan 25, 2013 at 18:21

6 votes

3 answers

40k views

Whispering "sweet nothings"

meaning etymology idioms

asked Feb 27, 2013 at 17:32

Stack Exchange Network

current community

your communities

more stack exchange communities

68 Questions

How and when did American spelling supersede British spelling in the US?

Hip Hip Hooray!

"I'm on the brew"

Why does 'coed' only mean female coeducational students?

Normans vs. Saxons: cow = beef, sheep = mutton, chicken =?

Pronunciation of "Celt": /kɛlt/ vs. /sɛlt/

Yes, no, adverbs, and interjections

Medical term for deafness

Term for a person who can read but cannot write

Origin of "as useful as a chocolate teapot / fireguard"

Etymology of 'ripped' as in 'ripped abs'

Why are Australian redheads often called 'bluey'?

"Bust a cap" meaning and derivation

What are the components of a word called?

Is "make due" now considered acceptable?

Cooking apples and cleaning ladies

Is 'Jap' still considered an ethnic slur?

Alternative definitions of wifebeater

Checked-out teenagers

Pedlar vs. peddler

French Letters and condoms

Different types of whistling

Why is the colour green associated with both growth and illness?

Use of American-Indian "How" in British English

Old (professional) Adam

Do ‘und’ and ‘till’ make “until” a tautology?

"He rolled his toilet things into his housewife"

Losing bottles and bottling out

What is the difference between a "prefix" and a "combining form"?

Whispering "sweet nothings"