Inhabited by a succession of Celts, Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Scandinavians and Normans, Britain has spent centuries simmering into a confusing toponymic soup of counties, cities and castles. Over time, ...

OK, gather around, kids, it’s story time. Once upon a time, I went to a party with my best friend, whom, for her own protection, I will call “Annie.” It was our first semester in college, and it was ...

A common complaint from students learning English is that baffling spellings often have little to do with the word's pronunciation. And there are many words that even fluent English speakers struggle ...

Although English spelling is famously weird, there are at least some words that anyone learning English will easily get right — words like black, board, boat, clap, coat, cup, and hand. But put cup ...