www.fgks.org   »   [go: up one dir, main page]

Word Facts

  1. “Quadragenarian” Or “Octogenarian”: What Is The Name For Your Decade Age?

    Every time another birthday rolls around, the thrills become fewer and the anxiety about aging becomes greater. But don’t let those landmark decade birthdays get you down! Now you can whip out a new word every 10 years to describe yourself. You may not have heard these words used very often, but that doesn’t mean they’re not important. Try saying one (or all) of them …

  2. “Recuse” vs. “Resign”: What’s The Difference?

    As with many legal and political terms, recuse and resign are often confused with each other. The differences between these terms are important to understand. What does recuse mean? To recuse means “to withdraw from performing legal duties because of potential bias or a conflict of interest.” This can apply to judges, jurors, lawyers, and so on, but it’s specific to the prejudice those individuals may exhibit. Although the …

  3. Where Does “Sunday” Get Its Name From?

    Sunday is the first day of the week, and it’s a day of rest before the start of the typical work week in many Western cultures. For some Christians and Catholics, it’s also the designated day for people to attend religious services in their Sunday best. The English name for Sunday, however, has nothing to do with its importance on the religious calendar. Whereas Wednesday …

  4. “Corporal,” “General,” “Sergeant,” “Private”: What’s The Order Of The Military Ranks?

    Growing up, most kids have that one friend with the incredibly strict parent. You know the one—the mom or dad who instills fear in everyone so that no one ever misbehaves around them, ever. There might also be a lot of yes ma’ams and no sirs involved. Well, it’s easy to joke that these parents are as strict as military officers. But in reality, not everyone …

  5. “Dopamine” vs. “Serotonin”: The Difference Between These Happy Hormones

    Bright and breezy? You’ve got serotonin to thank. Gloomy and grumpy? A big ol’ hug and a burst of oxytocin will perk you up. As it turns out, there’s a chemical side to happiness. Lifestyle factors and genetics certainly play a role in this—the latter accounting for 50 percent of your high spirits, research says. Still, how happy you are is dictated by a quartet …

  6. Is Veterans Day A Big Grammar Mistake?

    What do apostrophes have to do with this federal holiday? Well, there’s a confusing apostrophe in Veterans’ Day—or is there? Veterans Day is often incorrectly written as “Veteran’s Day” or “Veterans’ Day.” But, in fact, it’s apostrophe free. “Veteran’s Day” would definitely be incorrect because it would mean a day for only one veteran. While “Veterans’ Day” does encompass multiple veterans, that spelling is incorrect …

  7. “Squash” vs. “Gourd”: Can You Taste The Difference?

    There are many things that signify autumn’s arrival. Pumpkin spice everything, for example, or the slight nip of cold air. Yet few things scream fall as much as a bountiful harvest—particularly when it comes to the squash and gourd harvest. Fall is the season for squash soup and pumpkin pie on the table, right alongside decorative gourds of all shapes and sizes. At first glance, …

  8. What Is The Difference Between “Equality” And “Equity”?

    Children are often concerned with issues of fairness: who has more, who was first, and who is best. That’s not fair, they clamor at the first hint of any sort of inequality. Of course, some concepts related to equality can be difficult for children to grasp—but many of these concepts continue to pose thorny problems for us as adults making and enforcing policies and laws. …

  9. Is “Exult” The Word You’ll Be Looking For After This Election?

    As we celebrate the winter holidays and the ending of another year, one word always seems to get left off of the guest list: exult. Despite this, exult is as tough as its cousin resilient and keeps coming back for more. So, let’s clear the dance floor and shine the spotlight on exult and see what kind of a good time it brings to the …

  10. American Presidents Helped These Words Join Our Everyday Vocabulary