On August 19 2022, a Facebook page shared a screenshot of a tweet claiming that the origin of the popular American English phrase “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps” was the exact opposite of its modern usage: In the screenshot, the f
Publication: etymology
Truth or Fiction?→ Origin of ‘Goodbye’
On February 21 2022, an Imgur user shared a Tumblr screenshot, purportedly explaining the origin of the word “goodbye” in English: Entitled “Chat speak,” the post was not the first linguistically-themed meme to spread on social
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Bone Fire Became Bonfire’
In October 2021 a screenshot of an Instagram post circulated on Facebook with the timely claim that “bonfire” was a compound word originating with the phrase “bone fire”: View this post on Instagram
Truth or Fiction?→ Origin of the Word ‘Spinster’
The word “spinster” generally conjures up a mental picture of mean little old ladies who have never been married, glaring at young people from behind their living room curtains (which are lacy and yellowed with age, naturally) with their m
Truth or Fiction?→ Did ‘Upper Case’ and ‘Lower Case’ Originally Refer to Where Printers Kept Their Letters?
On September 12 2019, Twitter user Benjamin Molineaux shared the following tweet and image, suggesting that the common terms “uppercase” and “lowercase” originated with the standard physical storage of typesetting equipment:
Truth or Fiction?→ Is ‘Bar’ an Acronym for ‘Beer and Alcohol Room’?
A meme with the claim that the word “bar” is an acronym for “beer and alcohol room” suddenly appeared in late December 2018: The meme was virtually identical in both presentation and format to a similar post claiming the word
Truth or Fiction?→ Does Hospital Stand for ‘House of Sick People Including Treatment and Labour’?
On December 17 2018, a Facebook page shared the following meme purporting to reveal the surprising etymology of the word “hospital”: With a nod to the “today years old” meme, it read: How old were you when you realised that HOS
Snopes→ Etymology of ‘Tag’
How factual is the claim that the name of the children's game 'tag' originated as the acronym of 'touch and go'?
Snopes→ The Definition of ‘Trumpery’
It is now common knowledge (hat tip to the Internet) that President Donald Trump’s ancestral family name was Drumpf, a presumably respectable German surname that sounds, unfortunately — to English speakers’ ears, at any rate R