Eurovision 2022 in tempore belli: voices of the people, protest, and peace

By Philip V. Bohlman

Months before the Grand Finale of the Eurovision Song Contest on May 14, 2022 in Turin, Italy, Ukraine was able to claim both moral and musical victory with its entry, the Kalush Orchestra’s “Stefania” (Stephanie). Together with the official videos of all other national entries, “Stefania” began circulating globally on multiple internet platforms in the early weeks of 2022, even as the threat of Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine intensified and then reached the full force of invasion on 24 February.

A “neat” etymology

By Anatoly Liberman

Where do you find the origin and, if necessary, the meaning of never say die, never mind, and other phrases of this type? Should you look them up under never, say, die, or mind? Will they be there?

Off with their prefixes

By Edwin L. Battistella

I was teaching the history of the English Language and had just mentioned that, following the English Civil War, Charles I had been convicted of treason and beheaded.

A question came from the back of the classroom: “Why do we say beheaded and decapitated, not the other way around?”

The versatility of hydrogen: storable, portable, and renewable

By Paul F. Meier

Hydrogen is becoming a more versatile fuel, with the potential of storing and transporting renewable energy. This OUPblog post explores hydrogen’s use in electricity and heating and predicts greater demand for it in the future.

“Never say die” and dictionaries for the living

By Anatoly Liberman

Where do you find the origin and, if necessary, the meaning of never say die, never mind, and other phrases of this type? Should you look them up under never, say, die, or mind? Will they be there?

Who is Putin fighting against?

By Serhy Yekelchyk

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has highlighted a curious disconnect between the supposed ideological objective of the war and the means used to achieve it.

Oxford World English Symposium 2022 recap [podcast]

By Steven Filippi

This past April, the Oxford English Dictionary hosted the World English Symposium, a two-day event featuring a series of parallel sessions and panels on topics relating not only to varieties of English, but language prejudice, colonialism, and context-based English language teaching, among others.

When does a kid stop being a kid?

By Edwin L. Battistella

Last summer, my city’s community forum had a post that generated considerable discussion about the meaning of the word kid. Our governor had announced, via Twitter, that “All Oregon kids ages 1-18, regardless of immigration status, can get free summer meals” from the state’s Summer Food Service Program.

Institutional distrust in Britain and America: a history

By Brian P. Levack

In the past few decades, trust and distrust have become frequent subjects of journalistic and academic discourse. Distrust of British and American public institutions has, in fact, a much longer and more complex history than most academics recognize.

The president and the Patriarch: the significance of religion in the Ukrainian crisis

By Grace Davie

Baffling though this seems to most Europeans, President Putin believes that by invading Ukraine he is defending Orthodox Christianity from the godless West.

10 books to immerse yourself in the world of classical literature [reading list]

By Lindsey Stangl

Here are 10 books that we recommend you read if you’re looking to immerse yourself in the world of classical literature, but don’t know where to start:

Five little-known facts about Dracula

The 26th May 2022 marks the 125th anniversary of Dracula’s publication. Despite its reputation as one of the great Gothic novels, there are facts about Dracula that might surprise even the most hardcore fans.

What does UK law say about sexual harassment in the workplace?

By Astra Emir

What does the law say about sexual harassment in the workplace? Barrister Astra Emir provides a guide to UK law on harassment for employers and employees.

Idioms: a historian’s view

By Anatoly Liberman

Idioms are phrases and often pose questions not directly connected with linguistics. Linguists interested in the origin of idioms should be historians and archeologists.

The possibility of a world without intimate violence

By Anne P. DePrince

Today, stopping violence against women falls to few. The criminal legal system is charged with enforcing laws. A school delivers prevention programming to the children in attendance that day. A doctor privately addresses a survivor’s pain.

The French presidential election: Macron’s strange victory [long read]

By Emile Chabal, Michael C. Behrent, and Marion Van Renterghem

After the Fall of France in 1940, historian Marc Bloch famously spoke of France’s “strange defeat” by Germany. Emmanuel Macron’s victory on April 24 might just as appropriately be called a “strange victory”.