A man tried to compare 'boomer' to the N-word and got schooled by Dictionary.com

Dictionary.com

Baby boomers used to say, "Don't trust anyone over 30." Gen Z has a pithier expression - "OK boomer." The New York Times recently detailed how the term has become a way for a generation to succinctly express their frustrations over inheriting a hot mess. "Everybody in Gen Z is affected by the choices of the boomers, that they made and are still making," 18-year-old Nina Kasman told the New York Times. "Those choices are hurting us and our future. Everyone in my generation can relate to that experience and we're all really frustrated by it."

Others view the term as a way for the teens to disrespect their elders. Radio host Bob Lornsberry tried to, as the kids say, clap back at the term. "Being hip and flip does not make bigotry ok, nor is a derisive epithet acceptable because it is new," Lonsberry wrote in a now deleted Tweet. Yes, he actually compared "boomer" to the N-word.

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A petition is calling to remove sexist synonyms for 'woman' from the dictionary

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If you're a woman, you've probably been called a "bitch" at some point in your life. Unfortunately, one of the places you've been called that is the dictionary. A petition on Change.org is trying to get the Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus of English to remove sexist and outdated synonyms for the word "woman." The petition, which was started by London-based communications strategist Maria Beatrice Giovanardi, has already received 30,000 signatures — more than the student body of Oxford. They're trying to redefine the way we talk about women. Literally.

Some of the synonyms for "woman" are derogatory, like "bitch." Some synonyms are both archaic and derogatory, like "wench" and "bird." Some are flat out sexist, like "baggage" and "frail." Some of the other synonyms include, "chick," "biddy", "bint," "broad," "piece," and "petticoat." Interestingly, most of the positive synonyms for "woman" refer to a woman as a "sweetheart" or "paramour." It's not just the synonyms that are the problem. The examples "show women as sex objects, subordinate, and/or an irritation to men." Not only that, "the definition of a 'man' is much more exhaustive than that of a 'woman' — with 25 examples for men, compared to only five for women," the petition reads.

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I swapped out 'millennials' in headlines for something better. It made a huge difference.

Some buzzwords have gotten a bit loaded.

Ah, millennials...

At once destroyers of worlds and lazy slackers who won't move out of our parents' houses, we're all-purpose punching bags for society at large.

We're also ferocious killers. Did you know that we're responsible for the death of consumerism, the American Dream, Applebee's, marriage, boobs, beer, home ownership, the oil industry, and the future of humanity itself? Not bad, right? With so many contradictions, we're what Winston Churchill might have described as a "riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma."

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15 wise sayings you've probably never heard of, turned into cute illustrations.

We all come from different backgrounds, but that diversity makes for some pretty awesome lessons.

If you live in America, chances are you've heard (or used) the phrase "Don't put all your eggs in one basket."

Most of us know it means, essentially, that you shouldn't make all your plans based on one possible thing happening. But it's kind of a weird phrase, right? Have you ever stopped to wonder where it originated?

Its use in print has been traced to the novel "Don Quixote" by Miguel de Cervantes in the early 1600s, although it possibly was mistranslated to an inexact English idiom from the original and may have other roots in Italian phrases.  

Different cultures around the world all have their own similar sayings — proverbs, if you will — that make sense to those who've grown up speaking the language but sound downright odd to anyone who hasn't.

James Chapman is fascinated by these sayings and how they translate across languages and cultures.

When Chapman was getting his doctorate in physics, he started to pick up some of those sayings from students who spoke other languages. For example, when calling something a "pain in the butt," a colleague of his from Venezuela would describe it as a "pineapple under the arm."

The fact that the same sentiment could be expressed in two totally different ways because of differing origins in language fascinated him. Since almost all the proverbs had visual components, he began illustrating them.









Here are 15 wise proverbs from other languages that Chapman illustrated so you don't forget them:

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