Review of Damp Squid: The English language laid bare, by Jeremy Butterfield.

A potential new fuel, dubbed Mycodiesel, has been found, of all places, in a Patagonian fungus.

A extremely rare word, Agelastic is enjoying a mini-burst of popularity.

The idiom A flea in one’s ear has many equivalents in other languages, often with different meanings.

Deep concerns over the need to reduce global warming by controlling carbon emissions has led to the creation of Carborexia.

Mansuetude is an extremely rare word meaning gentleness; it has links to the idea of taming an animal.

A technique for improving fuel consumption, Hypermiling began in the US but is now becoming known more widely.

The ending -in-law was until the nineteenth century used much as we now use step-.

Review of Chambers Slang Dictionary, edited by Jonathon Green.

A minigarch is a rich Russian, but one of lesser financial worth than the oligarchs.

A play on Fashionista, a Recessionista trims her spending on fashion for these straitened times.

A rare word for a simple thing, Fuliginous simply means sooty.

The origin is finally discovered of the odd English idiom red herring.

Jackpot does indeed derive from gambling, but from poker, not lotteries.

Jackpot does indeed derive from gambling, but from poker, not lotteries.

Though Apricate is defunct, it might with profit be reintroduced, since it means to bask in the sun.

Though Apricate is defunct, it might with profit be reintroduced, since it means to bask in the sun.

What’s the story behind the common term Jay-walking for crossing the street illegally?

Nympholepsy has been tarnished by its associates with paedophilia, but it really refers to an unnattainable ideal.

A new term for a flavour of restaurant is slowly making the rounds: Haute barnyard.

A famous Welsh word, now widely known in British English, Hwyl has several meanings.

A curious British English expression, Kippers and curtains, puzzles an American reader.

Does Take the biscuit have anything to do with winning a prize?

If your teaching were Satisfactory, would you say it was good?

We rarely come across Enchiridion these days, though it might be a useful alternative to ‘handbook’.

Did Piggyback originally have anything to do with pigs?

A long-dead word, Gnathonic, refers to a sycophant or toady.

What is the origin of the strange phrase Bless your cotton socks?

The term Geo-engineering is becoming more widely known and has also shifted its meaning.

A truly odd word, Mooreeffoc, has never been used by anybody except to comment on it.

A typically British word, Bespoke, puzzles an American reader.

The newish term Virosphere reflects the increasing importance given by scientists to the humble virus.

A rare word for hunger, Esurience is sometimes used figuratively to mean greed.

When should we use Indexes and when Indices as the plural of Index?

A disquieting medical term for sponges left in the abdomen, Gossypiboma, is suitably weird in form and provenance.

The buzzword of 2008 is Staycation, a stay-at-home holiday that avoids expensive travel.

In Lukewarm, we are asked, who is Luke?

Virtual water is a environmental term for water used abroad to grow food or run industry.

You are likely to be met with blank looks if you call somebody a Dandiprat, which is probably all to the good.

Where does Skinny, meaning inside information, come from?

A rare word meaning something scurrilous, Fescennine comes from the name of an Estruscan town.

American cartoonists sometimes call symbols in a text balloon to indicate profanity grawlixes.

We investigate the origins of the expression Cleft stick

What’s the origin of the expression Know the ropes?

Big banners in processions are fairly common, but the word for them isn’t: Gonfalon.

Where does the British Tom for a prostitute come from?

Might the verb Waddle come from the family name of an American Confederate naval captain?

A Truepenny is an honest man; though extremely rare it remains in the language because Shakespeare used it.

It sounds like a euphemism for the F-word, but Faffing has a quite separate history.

Don’t be confused by the second element of Hoodwink; it doesn’t mean what you think.

You have to know about one of the seven wonders of the ancient world to work out the meaning of Pharology.

Why should somebody with a blemished personal history be said to have a Chequered past?

The ancient Greeks believed a race of people lived in the Hyperborean realms, beyond the north wind.

Noggin is slang for the head; recent research shows it to have been 18th century boxing slang.

Slanging match is slang of the late 19th century, based on the verb slang.

A modern weird word, a Doryphore is a pedantic critic, but also a figurative colorado beetle.

The US slang Finagle, which can mean to obtain something dishonestly, turns out to be English regional dialect.

The biggest problem with Chthonic, once you’ve worked out how to spell it, is how to say it.

Why do British people refer to an apartment as a Flat?

Why do British people refer to an apartment as a Flat?

Fears over oil running out has led to a movement called Transition Towns.

Fears over oil running out has led to a movement called Transition Towns.

Not the least weird thing about Singultient is that it can refer both to sobbing and to the hiccups.

Not the least weird thing about Singultient is that it can refer both to sobbing and to the hiccups.

Does the English word Ahoy!, a shout of attention, really come from Czech?

What’s the history behind Soapbox in the sense of a speaker’s platform?

If something is said to be Sapid, would you eat it?

A British term for a friendly if inconsequential conversation, Chin wag, delights a subscriber.

EU legislation may outlaw a particularly public example of Contextomy.

A rare word, Gorbellied is just as much an insult as it sounds.

Did Back to square one really derive from BBC football commentaries? We say not.

A reader objects to World Wide Words using preventative. Surely the right word is preventive?

A rare term derived from Latin, Patibulary ought to have solemn and religious associations, but is often used facetiously.

Why should an English person in financial difficulties be said to be on Queer Street?

Review of Stunned Mullets and Two-pot Screamers by Gerald Wilkes.

The bouncing rhythm of Jiggery-pokery adds to its charm.

Who first used the term Acid test and where does it come from?

Review of An Analytic Dictionary of English Etymology by Anatoly Liberman.

A one-time generic name for a lady’s maid., Abigail, may be from a Biblical allusion.

Where does the traditional Irish curse Bad cess come from?

Does Cock and bull story really come from the tall tales of travellers at two English inns?

An invention of the late Arthur Koestler, Struthonian is extremely rare but not quite defunct.

The adage about Chickens coming home to roost can be traced back to Chaucer.

A disparaging upper-crust British expression, Hairy at the heel turns out to be linked to horse breeding.

We’re most likely to call it the paragraph sign these days, but it was once commonly called a Pilcrow.

Why do American and British speakers differ in the way they say Lieutenant?

The next big thing in mobile telephony will be private base stations or Femtocells.

An old Scots and northern English usage taken to Australia by migrants, a Darg is a fair day’s work.

Does the expression Shoot oneself in the foot come from self-inflicted wounds designed to avoid combat?

The application of nanotechnology to food preparation has led to the term Nanofood becoming known.

An ingenious seventeenth-century idea for a tax, Hearth-money was killed off through public opposition.

A folksy and colloquial US word, Mosey, baffles the word-history experts.

The word Drunkorexia started as a mean-spirited joke on celebrities, but has expanded its sense.

A rare nineteenth-century word for a toy, Quocker-wodger, briefly became a political insult.

Readers queried my use of between, saying it should be among. I refute the rule they’re following.

The expression Steam radio started to be used in the UK shortly after television began.

Nothing to do with hair, a Wigg was a bun or cake baked for special occasions.