Malamute, kayak, and parka are just some of the words that have found their way into English from the language of indigenous people in northern climes. • In the 1970s, some scientists argued that two quarks should be called truth and beauty. • The...
Rebecca in Austin, Texas, wonders why the terms cold sore and fever blister describe pretty much the same thing. Also, why do we say we have a cold, but we have the flu? The word flu comes from the Italian word for influence, influenza, and is a...
Steer clear of the flu. You’ll groan on wet sheets. You will mew. This is part of a complete episode.
Grant answers a caller’s question about the origin of griage, a word used increasingly in clinics where flu shots are dispensed. This is part of a complete episode.
hamdemic n.—Gloss: A joking name for the swine flu pandemic. «As a responsible newspaper in serious times—when the world is threatened by climate change, economic collapse and what we are steadfastly refusing to describe as a...
infodemic n.— «Is it an abundance of caution, or an abundance of panic and fear? An epidemic or an “infodemic?” What constitutes responsible action at a time when fear prevails?» —“The Travel Detective Responds to Joe Biden and the...