Etymology is a funny thing. Even if you're not a word nerd, you might have wondered why so many English idioms we use are Just. So. Weird.

Want to get away this summer? Come daydream with us to the kitchen of Julia Child, in the south of France...

Many whimsically named regional foods focus instead on telling a story that often sounds neither delicious nor sophisticated. How do such odd names stick?

MSG, the Japanese flavor enhancer, has grown into an international sensation. But its history is also fraught with tension.

How certain speech acts perform actions and alter our social reality.

First of all, why the name "turkey?"

With all due respect to hamburgers and apple pie, hot dogs are arguably the most American of foods.