Like many four-letter words, poll is versatile. Where did it come from, and how did it come to be associated with voting?  Continue reading...

Watch out — there's a new candidate for Euphemism of the Year! And this one just might be one of the sneakiest snakes.  Continue reading...

I was delighted to learn recently of The Sifter - A Food History Research Tool, which is a gigantic online database of historical cookbooks. What I've been doing in The Sifter initially is a kind of time travel via language.  Continue reading...