commode For Americans, at least, the primary sense of commode is that of a euphemism for a toilet. But they may encounter a very different meaning in the context of antique furniture, where a commode is an ornate chest of drawers. And the word has other, now historical, meanings of a
brat / Brat Pack / brat summer A brat is a spoiled or misbehaving child. The origin of the word is not known for certain, although there are at least two hypotheses that have some degree of evidence behind them. It may come from an Old English word of Celtic origin, bratt, meaning a cloak. The same
radon Radon is a chemical element, a radioactive noble gas with atomic number 86 and the symbol Rn. It has few practical applications. Radon has long history of use in medical quackery, and is still occasionally used in legitimate nuclear medicine, although it has largely been replaced by other substances. Because
unidentified aerial phenomenon / UAP Unidentified aerial phenomenon, or UAP, is another name for a UFO https://www.wordorigins.org/big-list-entries/flying-saucer, that is an unexplained observation of some object in the sky. Sometimes UAP is interpreted as unidentified anomalous phenomenon. The term is also an illustration of two general principles that can be applied
frak 0:00 /6:49 1× "Obscene” words are funny things. Supposedly, a word is classified as obscene or not because of its meaning, what it represents. But very often the meaning seemingly has nothing to do with it. Frak is a case in point. Frak is a euphemism for
broligarchy Slang terms often exist for years before the general public takes notice of them. Broligarchy and broligarch are examples of this. The words are a play on bro + oligarchy. And a broligarchy is small group of men who control a situation or political power structure. It differs from an ordinary
radium The element radium is a radioactive, silvery-white, alkaline-earth metal with atomic number 88 and the symbol Ra. Its most stable isotope, radium-226 has a half-life of 1,600 years. Radium is particularly toxic in that it is chemically similar to calcium and can deposit in bones, causing long-term exposure to
libel In present day legal parlance, according to Black’s Law Dictionary, a libel is “a defamatory statement expressed in a fixed medium, esp. writing but also a picture, sign, or electronic broadcast.” It is also a verb meaning “to defame (someone) in a permanent medium, esp. in writing.” The word
duke / dukes A duke is the ruler of a duchy or the highest rank of nobility below the sovereign. The word comes from the Anglo-Norman duc, meaning ruler or general, which in turn is from the Latin dux, leader or general. The oldest use of the word in English that anyone has
protactinium The element protactinium is a dense, radioactive, silvery-gray metal in the actinide series with atomic number 91 and the symbol Pa. Due to its rarity and its radioactivity, it has no applications outside of research. The element was first discovered by Kazimierz Fajans and Oswald Helmuth Göhring in 1913, and
yassify / yas To yassify something is to apply beauty filters to a digital image in an over-the-top manner in order to create a humorous result, and often, in a callback to the term’s roots in 1980s Black and LatinX queer culture, to transform the image of man into that of a
gerrymander Political jargon terms often have a short life. Terms terms such as to bork or hanging chad which once briefly dominated the news cycle are now historical footnotes. Gerrymander, however, is one of the most successful political jargon terms of all time, but its survival is somewhat unfair to its
promethium Promethium, a chemical element in the lanthanide series with atomic number 61 and the symbol Pm, may very well be the element with the dubious honor of having the most names attached to it. It is radioactive and extremely rare in nature. Only one isotope of promethium has uses beyond
