Fact ChecksLanguage
The very tool we use to communicate urban legends to each other — language — is itself a source of folklore. A number of the words and phrases in use today have interesting origins that have almost become obscured in the mists of time. Equally, our sense of romance leads us to invent unusual origins for commonplace words rather than be satisfied with their mundane beginnings.
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The word "False" is over a screenshot of a Twitter post that says, "The phrase “knocked up,” referring to pregnancy, originated with U.S. slavery. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the expression back to 1813. Back then the price of enslaved African women was “knocked up” by the auctioneer when she was pregnant—promoted as a deal for buyers."
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Book, Money, Person
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Here’s my two cents” in the sense of airing an unsolicited opinion dates only to the mid-1920s, and likely began in the U.S.
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What Is the History of the Middle Finger?
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Clothing, Apparel, Person
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A golfer putting at the Hazeltine National Golf Course during the 2002 PGA Championship.
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Wood, Furniture, Table
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Dictionary definition of twerk
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Person, Human, Finger
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Boat, Transportation, Vehicle
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pandemicide
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Sailing ships
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