If you were baffled by Scottish singing sensation Susan Boyle's use of the expression "going down a bomb," as discussed in this Word Routes column, then wonder no more. Lynne Murphy explains the idiom on her blog Separated by a Common Language. Lynne also makes sense of such Briticisms as "he looks a right twit" and "going down a treat."

Why say "blizzard" when you could say "snow-mageddon"? And why refer to the "swine flu outbreak" when you could say "a-pork-alypse"? Visual Thesaurus contributor Mark Peters considers some catastrophic coinages in his latest column for Good.

"Psyche!" "Don't go there!" "Take a chill pill!" "Not!" The Children of the '90s blog takes a loving look back at catchphrases that "enjoyed a substantial heyday before being put to rest for being insanely irritating."

How do you pluralize the word "thesaurus"? Both "thesauruses" and "thesauri" are perfectly acceptable. But would you believe "thesaurusi"? It's rare, but it's out there. Brett Reynolds, professor of English at Humber College, investigates the pluralization error on his blog English, Jack.

"Cap and trade" or "pollution reduction refund"? "Global warming" or "our deteriorating atmosphere"? Environmental action groups are proposing new messaging techniques to build public support for their causes. The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times provide two different angles to this developing story.

New research shows that the faster a baby name like "Tricia" gets popular, the faster it fades away. And the same principle applies to other fads and fashions. Wired Science reports.

The now-familiar symbol "@" is nearly five centuries old: it shows up in a 1536 letter from an Italian merchant. (Back then it was used to indicate a unit of measure, the amphora.) The New York Times Bits blog has more.