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From UN recognition to centuries-old history, here's why Turkey is now called Türkiye in the World Cup—and how the Thanksgiving bird ended up sharing its name.

English spelling can be frustrating and confusing, but there are things you can do to help make the task of getting it right more manageable.

Would you recoil in terror if spell-check ever stopped working? Fear not: You're in good company.

These British reformers wanted to ditch "i before e" for something a little simpler. Who could blame them?

Some of Webster's suggested reforms caught on and still mark a difference between American and British writing. But you won't beleev how many of his reforms went nowhere.

Language is a continual process of evolution, but these words—from pea to sherry—changed thanks to outright mistakes.

A semordnilap (itself a semordnilap of “palindromes”) makes a completely different word when spelled backwards.

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The word traces back to a heartbreaking myth of unrequited love, loss, and a voice that could never truly be heard.

The word “clue” has a surprising origin story involving a ball of thread, Ancient Greece, and Theseus’ legendary battle with the Minotaur.

In order to explain where the word “tantalize” comes from, we have to look back at Tantalus’s story in Greek mythology.

More than 2,000 years ago, the myth of Narcissus gave us a word we still use today. Here’s the story behind “narcissist.”

The term 'gaslighting' dates back to a 1938 play. Here's what gaslighting means, what it's not how to recognize the signs, and what to do if you are being gaslit.

How did this awkwardly unwelcome "third" come to be referred to as a "wheel"?

The phrase "elephant in the room" wasn't always about awkward topics. Here's how the idiom evolved over the past two centuries.

Why do we say “add insult to injury”? Discover the surprising history behind this common phrase, which dates back to Ancient Rome.

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