Society & Culture  & Entertainment: une gifle

une gifle

What does the French word gifle mean? How is it pronounced and used?

Society & Culture  & Entertainment: French Expressions with Soir and Soirée

French Expressions with Soir and Soirée

The French words soir and soirée both mean evening and are also used in many expressions. Learn how to say evening meal, night owl, formal wear, and more.

Society & Culture  & Entertainment: Handy Phrases To Know In Spanish

Handy Phrases To Know In Spanish

Navigating the language barrier when you travel to Spain can leave you feeling frustrated when you are not able to communicate in the local language. If you stay at one of the more popular tourist resorts there is a very good chance that you will not even need to speak Spanish. In areas that cater t

Society & Culture  & Entertainment: Preface to Pygmalion, by George Bernard Shaw

Preface to Pygmalion, by George Bernard Shaw

Shaw's preface to "Pygmalion" (1912)--his most popular play and the basis for the musical "My Fair Lady"--includes what Kate Burridge has called a "wonderful tirade against the English language and its spelling."

Society & Culture  & Entertainment: Ruiner - to ruin

Ruiner - to ruin

Learn how to conjugate ruiner, a regular -er French verb.

Society & Culture  & Entertainment: What Is Bulwark?

What Is Bulwark?

Bulwark can be used as a noun or as a verb. In its various forms and contexts, the term bulwark relates to protection and strength.

Society & Culture  & Entertainment: How to Perfect Lie Detecting Skills

How to Perfect Lie Detecting Skills

Have you ever suspected someone of lying just by observing how they speak or act? Truth is, a lot can be learned from a person's body language. Law enforcement use various lie detecting techniques, in addition to polygraph tests, during interrogation to see if people are telling the truth. But, yo

Society & Culture  & Entertainment: What Are Blurred Words?

What Are Blurred Words?

A blurred word is any imprecise expression "used quickly and without much thought."

Society & Culture  & Entertainment: Passé simple

Passé simple

The passé simple is the literary equivalent of the passé composé, used only in formal writing and speech. Learn all about the French passé simple.

Society & Culture  & Entertainment: A Classic Essay by George Orwell: 'A Hanging

A Classic Essay by George Orwell: 'A Hanging

From 1922 to 1927, George Orwell served in Burma as a member of the Indian Imperial Police. Out of that experience came this classic essay, "A Hanging."

Society & Culture  & Entertainment: 42 Examples of Palindromes

42 Examples of Palindromes

A palindrome is a type of word play in which a word, phrase, or sentence reads the same backward or forward.

Society & Culture  & Entertainment: How to Say Happy Birthday in Italian

How to Say Happy Birthday in Italian

Italian is known as one of the most beautiful languages in the world. The Italian language shares some similarities with French, Spanish and Romanian, which are all romance languages and are derived from Latin. Italian is heard throughout not just mainland Italy but in Switzerland, Sicily, Corsica a

Society & Culture  & Entertainment: Free! by Charles Hanson Towne

Free! by Charles Hanson Towne

In the familiar essay "Free!" Charles Hanson Towne assumes the persona of the "young-old philosopher" as he details the pleasures of truancy.

Society & Culture  & Entertainment: Adjuncts in English Grammar

Adjuncts in English Grammar

An adjunct is a word, phrase, or clause that is integrated within the structure of a sentence and that can be omitted without making the sentence ungrammatical.