About 22 results
Open links in new tab
  1. The origin of 'water breaking' during pregnancy

    Feb 16, 2025 · Indeed the earliest-occurring term, amnios, the OED assigns to its frequency band 2, its second to rarest classification. That means it remains extremely rare. The OED …

  2. What is the origin for meaning of "Wild-card"?

    Hindus believe that if they die here, there is an automatic upgrade to heaven, no matter what the sin committed on earth. It is amazing how god provides this wild-card entry at death. I …

  3. Is there a word for a person who can recognize valuable items that …

    Jul 10, 2023 · She’s found: an antique piece of serving ware–I think it was a pie slicer or cheese knife that was the rarest part of a set, rare pyrex dishes, an original Holly Hobbie doll, a jar of …

  4. "So that it be" vs "so that it is" - English Language & Usage Stack ...

    Jul 15, 2016 · The subjunctive is rare in British English, but perhaps less so in American English. In either variety, I want you to give this money to him so that he have enough for lunch seems …

  5. How to describe very tasty and probably unhealthy food

    Oct 25, 2016 · I'm looking for a word to describe food that is very tasty and unhealthy/fattening, probably served in oversize portions. For example: a mountain of pancakes with lots of butter, …

  6. Where did the baseball term "lace" come from?

    Sep 22, 2024 · One source refers to this volume as "baseball's rarest book"; and as its title suggests, before fans came into popular usage, the slang term for baseball enthusiasts—at …

  7. etymology - The pronunciation of the word 'junta' - English …

    Mar 24, 2019 · In contrast, /ʒ/ is the rarest consonant phoneme in the language at all, occurring only in (mainly French) loan words, and notably it is almost entirely absent at the beginning of …

  8. Etymology for "petrichor" - English Language & Usage Stack …

    Jan 22, 2015 · It's common knowledge that the (Greek) gods drank nectar and ate ambrosia, but I've never heard that their ichor had a noteworthy odor—or that the gods exuded it on any but …

  9. Do we pronounce a "t" sound in negative contractions "n't"

    Dec 23, 2015 · It can easily be a vowel that follows. So in terms of what native speakers actually do, by far the rarest realisation is with a canonical [t]. However, it is never wrong to use a …

  10. Safe as Houses - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

    Oct 23, 2015 · Safe as Houses : John Hotten argued in his Slang Dictionary of 1859 that safe as houses may have arisen when the intense speculation on railways in Britain — the railway …