How topics are selected
Articles cover familiar idioms, sayings, and slang, including reader suggestions and expressions with widely repeated origin stories.
How sources are evaluated
Preference is given to dictionaries (Oxford English Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Cambridge, Oxford Learner’s), historical dictionaries, newspaper and book archives (Google Books, Internet Archive, HathiTrust), digitized primary texts, and peer-reviewed linguistic research. General-interest blogs and idiom sites may document a popular story, but they are never the only basis for a historical claim.
How folklore is labeled
Origin notes distinguish published evidence, possible explanations, unproven stories, conflicting evidence, and uncertain origins. An early printed use is evidence of usage, not necessarily the moment of invention.
How competing theories are presented
When several explanations exist, the article presents them separately with the evidence for each and a clear statement of what the record supports. When no single origin is known, the article says so.
Medical and sensitive claims
Articles touching health (for example, the phrase “cold turkey” and withdrawal) distinguish the idiom’s meaning from medical guidance, rely on authoritative health sources, and are never used to give individualized treatment advice. Health-related guides include a reminder to seek qualified help for medical concerns.
Dates
A visible “Updated” date records a documented material revision to meaning, grammar, factual history, attribution, or uncertainty. Illustration, layout, and review-only changes do not advance it.
AI assistance
AI tools assist with research, drafting, and illustration under the publisher's direction. The publisher retains final factual responsibility.
Responsibility and corrections
Final factual responsibility belongs to the publisher, Marc LaClear. Readers can report errors on the corrections page; substantive corrections are logged and reflected in the article.