Alexander AtkinsOne Quirky Man’s Quest to Preserve the English LanguageThe fascinating story and enduring legacy of Samuel Johnson’s English Dictionary10 min read·May 3, 2024----
Alexander AtkinsThe Fascinating Origin of “Clothes Make the Man”Unraveling the proverbial thread that leads from Twain to Erasmus to Quintilian to Homer3 min read·Mar 22, 2024----
Alexander AtkinsWhy Do We Say Something Has All the “Bells and Whistles”?The fascinating origin and evolution of a common idiom6 min read·Jan 25, 2024----
Alexander AtkinsThe Heckler That Changed the Course of Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” SpeechLearn how a friendly heckler, a famous singer, inspired MLK to improvise and deliver one of the most famous speeches in American history5 min read·Jan 16, 2024----
Alexander AtkinsinCellar Door52 Words That Sound Dirty But Aren’tThese are all extremely innocent, family-friendly dictionary words. You may need to wash your mouth out with soap anyway5 min read·Oct 18, 2023--13--13
Alexander AtkinsJulius Caesar and Winston Churchill and Their Love of the HypozeuxisLearn how two famous speeches, centuries apart, are linked by a common rhetorical device4 min read·Sep 27, 2023--7--7
Alexander AtkinsFrom Goo-Goo Eyes to the OeilladeThe fascinating history of the archaic word for a flirting glance4 min read·Aug 27, 2023----
Alexander AtkinsinCellar Door“Don’t Have a Pot to Piss In”: An Origin StoryThe earliest appearance of a uniquely American idiom4 min read·Jul 17, 2023--23--23
Alexander AtkinsThe Pure Joy of Playing Duck and DrakeLearn the fascinating history of the term for skipping stones.6 min read·Jul 6, 2023--3--3
Alexander AtkinsinCellar DoorThere’s A Word for That: AgnotologyWelcome to the insidious world of culturally-induced ignorance.5 min read·May 10, 2023--20--20