Introduction

Throughout time humans have sought answers to the mysteries and origins of the world around them. In the absence of facts, the human need for answers sparked stories around the world of gods and goddesses, heroes and superhuman feats, and magical beings. Every culture had myths to explain such things as why the sun rises . . . why the stars form the patterns they do . . . why the winds blow . . . and how it all began. With the development of modern science, many of our myths fell by the wayside. The sun has been put in its proper place, stars have been reduced to basic elements, and the winds follow almost-predictable patterns. But science can't answer all of our questions, and we still seek explanations about the things around us and how they came to be.

We seem particularly fascinated with the origins of words and phrases. Where did the goofy word quiz come from? How did the phrase "a red letter day" originate? In some cases, the origins of words can be traced in a rigorous academic manner back through cultures and eras to their ancient roots. In other cases, the beginnings of a word or phrase are lost in time, and as with the earliest creation myths, a body of folklore and legends developed to provide inquiring humans with something to grasp.

This website provides a mixture of rigorous academic inquiry and folkloric legend to examine some of the English language's most quirky and interesting words and phrases. Browse the listings, satisfy your own curiosity, learn a few things, and enjoy some of the myths and mirths of our language.