26 Totally Bonkers Language Facts We Learned In 2025 That Feel Made Up

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary social media accounts are some of the best on all of... social media. They're truly top tier, always teaching us *regular folk* fun facts about words and phrases.

(This isn't an ad for the dictionary lol... it's just how I feel!)

That said, here's what they taught us in 2025:

1. "'Goodbye’ is an alteration of 'God be with you.'"

2. *Who* "Frank" is in the expression "Let's be Frank."

3. "Napkin" literally means "little tablecloth."

4. There's a word for a person who steals books:

5. The phrase "souped up" originally referred to drugging horses to make them run faster.

6. "Asterik" means "little star" in Greek.

7. Why we call it a "fax" machine:

8. What the heck "E.g." means:

9. "The first known use of 'conspiracy theory' was in 1863."

10. "'Howdy' is an alteration of 'how do ye.'"

11. "'Robot' comes from the Czech word ‘robota’ which means 'forced labor.'"

12. The "deck" in "Deck the Halls" comes from a Dutch word meaning "to cover."

13. The origins of "pro" vs. "con."

14. The definition of "enshittification."

15. There's a word that rhymes with "silver:"

16. This:

17. What "stat" comes from:

18. In the US we spell it "grAy" and everywhere else they spell it "grEy."

19. The "B" in Oral B stands for "Brush."

20. "'Tulip' comes from the Turkish word ‘tülbent’ which means 'turban.'"

21. "'Astronomers' is an anagram for 'moon starers.'"

22. This:

23. Also this:

24. The origin of the word "plumber:"

25. "When in Rome" and "When life hands you lemons" are examples of 'anapodotons.'"

26. And lastly, "snafu" means "Situation Normal, All Fucked Up."