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Discussions
Why the verb “to be” is so irregular
The answer is six thousand years old
Apr 1
•
Colin Gorrie
320
67
40
No, Shakespeare didn’t invent those words
Bias, evidence, and the Oxford English Dictionary
Mar 18
•
Colin Gorrie
242
19
25
Leave the em-dash alone
This writing panic has a 500-year precedent
Mar 4
•
Colin Gorrie
347
85
84
How far back in time can you understand English?
An experiment in language change
Feb 18
•
Colin Gorrie
4,168
405
660
Etymology is a growth industry
One year of the Dead Language Society
Feb 4
•
Colin Gorrie
139
56
11
Scots, English, and the linguistic uncanny valley
English’s fascination with its closest cousin
Jan 21
•
Colin Gorrie
168
31
11
The dead language tier list
What I learned studying 7 historical languages
Jan 7
•
Colin Gorrie
324
66
40
“Christmas” is a weird word
Merry Sending of the Smeared One!
Dec 24, 2025
•
Colin Gorrie
157
24
18
How debt shaped the way we speak
And what it shows about how language works
Dec 10, 2025
•
Colin Gorrie
128
29
16
Why people feel entitled to correct your grammar online
A natural history of the language police
Nov 26, 2025
•
Colin Gorrie
112
60
20
The origin of nothing
Why negative words start with ‘n’
Nov 12, 2025
•
Colin Gorrie
167
39
17
What is a Hallow, anyway?
The linguistic mysteries of "Halloween"
Oct 29, 2025
•
Colin Gorrie
178
12
26
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