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19 weirdly-specific everyday things that you didn't know had names

That pleasing smell after a heavy rain is called "petrichor"

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Most people have no idea these extremely specific everyday objects actually have names.

Some concepts just can't be captured by a single word. They're too specific, too intangible, or just too weird to possibly be summed by a single string of letters with a meaning we all universally agree on. Or, at least, that's what I thought.

I recently learned this about something I had believed to be almost indescribable. The pleasant smell after a summer rain — you know, that pleasing, warm, earthy smell of wet soil and steamy pavement — actually has a name. It's called "petrichor". Turns out, scientists have studied the aroma and why humans are seemingly so sensitive and drawn to it.

It got me thinking about if there were other unspoken phenomena, or strangely-specific objects or concepts that actually have names. It turns out, there are a ton! Some of them are a little antiquated, others won't be found in most traditional dictionaries, but the names exist nonetheless.

Here are 19 of the most interesting things you didn't know had names. Learn these and you'll never be at a loss for words ever again:


english language, words, english, idioms, words and phrases, weird, everyday objects, funny, humor, language, slang Petrichor is the smell of wet soil and pavement after a rain. Photo by frame harirak on Unsplash

1. The space between your eyebrows is the "glabella"

A common theme in my research is that your body has tons of parts you never realized have scientific names. Who would have ever thought the small patch of skin between your eyebrows would need its own medical term?

2. The day after tomorrow is called "overmorrow"

Why haven't we been using this one the whole time? This is an older, outdated word, but it makes complete sense. Many languages other than English have a word for the day after tomorrow, and it turns out, we have one, too.

3. A question mark and exclamation mark used together is called an "interrobang"

This specific punctuation combo is used heavily in text messages and emails, or in written dialogue to denote an excitedly or angrily-asked question.

4. Handwriting that's sloppy and hard to read is "griffonage"

Griffonage doesn't necessarily refer to someone who has bad handwriting, but moreso to scribbles and scrawls that were done hastily. Have you ever quickly made yourself a note with very little care for neat writing, then had trouble reading it later? That's griffonage.

5. The stringy things that come off when you peel a banana are "Phloem bundles"


english language, words, english, idioms, words and phrases, weird, everyday objects, funny, humor, language, slang The stringy bits of banana peel are called Phloem bundles. Photo by Louis Hansel on Unsplash

No one tell my kids about Phloem bundles. They already throw bananas away at the sight of the tiniest brown spot; they'll never recover if they learn about this pretty gross-sounding term.

6. When you've misheard the lyrics of a song, you've created a "mondegreen"

Usually a mondegreen creates a new meaning; it's when you misheard or couldn't quite make out the words to a song or poem and do your best to fill in the gaps with something that kind of makes sense. A famous one is how many people thought the famous Jimi Hendrix song went "Excuse me while I kiss this guy."

7. A worn-down area in the grass where walkers have diverted from the sidewalk is called a "desire path"


english language, words, english, idioms, words and phrases, weird, everyday objects, funny, humor, language, slang Human-made paths in the grass or dirt are desire paths. Gordon Joly & wetwebwork/Flickr

These are everywhere! Turns out people don't like following the sidewalk around 90 degree corners and will often cut across the grass, instead, wearing a path into the dirt. Desire paths are well-studied by city planners.

8. The cardboard sleeve that goes around a hot coffee cup is called a "zarf"


english language, words, english, idioms, words and phrases, weird, everyday objects, funny, humor, language, slang The cardboard sleeve around hot coffee is called a zarf. Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

A zarf is any cylindrical sleeve that goes around a hot cup to protect your hands, but these days it's most commonly used (if it's used at all) to describe those little paper things they give out at Starbucks.

9. The little dot over a lowercase i or j is called a "tittle"

I always just assumed that the dot was part of the letter, which it is, but apparently it's important enough to get its very own name!

10. Those heavenly rays of sunshine slicing through the clouds are called "crepuscular rays"


english language, words, english, idioms, words and phrases, weird, everyday objects, funny, humor, language, slang Sun beams through clouds are called crepuscular rays. Photo by Joshua Kettle on Unsplash

Truly one of the most beautiful sights to behold on the planet, I never knew there was such an official name for these beams of sunlight. The word "crepuscular" refers to something that resembles or relates to twilight.

11. The puffy edge of a pizza crust is technically called the "cornicione"


english language, words, english, idioms, words and phrases, weird, everyday objects, funny, humor, language, slang The edge of the pizza crust is the cornicione. Photo by Getúlio Moraes on Unsplash

This is a fun one, because if we're being technical, the entire doughy bread layer of a pizza is the crust. The little puffy, crescent-shaped bit at the end that we feed our dogs is its own unique entity — formally known as the cornicione. It's an Italian word meaning "edge or rim."

12. The little metal thing that attaches an eraser to a wooden pencil is called a "ferrule"

If you're like me, so much as glancing at a ferrule transports you straight back to elementary school. I can practically smell the rubber of the eraser and feel the ridges of the little metal ring — and now I know what it's called.

13. That feeling of really really really not wanting to get out of bed is called "dysania"

There can be a lot of causes of not wanting to get out of bed, but dysania usually refers to mornings when you should have gotten plenty of sleep. Whether it's feeling overwhelmed by the day ahead, still sleepy from sleep inertia, or dealing with fatigue from an underlying medical condition — I think we've all been there before for one reason or another.

14. Squeezing your eyes shut and seeing weird lights and shapes? Those are called "phosphenes"

I used to love doing this as a kid. I'd see stars, geometric shapes and patterns, and blasts of laser-like light all dancing in front of my eyes - and I never knew other people had the same experience until I was much older. Phosphenes refers to the visual perception of light without any actual light being present or entering the eyes. When you shut your eyes tight or rub them, the visual pressure on the eye stimulates it and creates these almost-hallucinations.

15. The metal cage that holds the cork on a bottle of champagne is called an "agraffe"


english language, words, english, idioms, words and phrases, weird, everyday objects, funny, humor, language, slang The metal cork cage is called an agraffe. Photo by DaYsO on Unsplash

It's funny, opening a bottle of champagne or sparkling wine is usually a sign of celebration. The bottle and liquid inside help mark the occasion, and the cork might be saved as a keepsake. But the poor little metal cage? That always gets forgotten and thrown away. The least we could do is refer to it by its given name: the agraffe.

16. The hole you put your arm through in a shirt is called an "armscye"

You've heard of shirts, you've heard of sleeves, but most people don't know that the hole where they meet actually has its own term in the tailoring world.

17. That unreachable spot between your shoulder blades is called the "acnestis"

Throughout human history, so many people have experienced an itch in this impossible-to-scratch area that we finally had to break down and give it a name sometime in the 1700s.

18. Words that mean one thing forward and another backward are called "semordnilaps"

A palindrome is a word that reads the same in both directions, like racecar, or noon. A semordnilaps is a word that means two different things backwards and forwards, which is a highly unique but very cool scenario. Some examples of semordnilaps are stressed/dessert, mood/doom, devil/lived, or straw/warts.

19. A bunch of symbols stuffed together in place of profanity is called "grawlix"

About &@*($&$# time we got to this one! Commonly seen in comic books alongside another one of my favorite words, onomatopoeia (sound words like bam, pow, hiss, boo), we're all so naturally attuned to grawlix that we can almost read it like regular English.
Image via Canva

People discuss the most commonly misused words in the English language.

English is a confusing language. Not only are English words hard to spell, but many words frequently get mispronounced. Nailing proper English grammar, especially when technology and social media continue to change linguistics, is getting harder.

A 2024 study on the impacts of grammar and language on over 300 million English comments left online noted that social media has created "a consistent trend of decreasing text length and lexical richness." Translation: our smart phones are making it harder to nail the correct use and meaning of certain words.

It's a trend people in an Reddit grammar forum discussed by highlighting the words they hear and see most commonly misused by people—and the ones that irk them the most. These are 34 of the most misused words of 2025:

"I hear a whole lot of people saying 'weary' when they mean 'wary'." — alejo699

"I guess this is more spelling, but using 'loose' instead of 'lose'. — jd_9220


@englishlikeanative

What's the difference between 'lose', 'loose' and 'loss'? #esl #learnenglish #englishlikeanative #pronunciation #speakenglish #annaenglish

"Also 'breathe' and 'breath'." —Lanky-County2481

"With all the ICE stuff happening lately, I’ve been seeing a ton of people mention the 'boarder' [when they mean 'border'] in their comments. Aww/awe irks me a bit, like when someone writes, 'Awe, that pic of your dog is so cute!' Lately I’ve seen a horrifying amount of newspapers and news outlets report on 'grizzly' [when they mean 'grisly'] murders. Either proofreaders are no longer being employed by them, or there are a whole lot of bear maulings going on." — anosmia1974

"Or people asking for 'advise'." — growing_fatties

"Weary/wary, hardy/hearty, averse/adverse, compliment/complement, discreet/discrete, phased/fazed, diffuse/defuse…" — nemmalur

"Averse/adverse. I can't get my wife to stop saying 'I'm not adverse to it' and she's an editor. I can only conclude she's doing it to f*ck with me now." —alejo699

- YouTube www.youtube.com

"Affect/effect." —Go_time_24

"Of.' As in 'should of'." — DrinkAllTheAbsinthe

"Gaslighting." — Parking_War_4100

"Infer. People use it when they mean imply. Infer is when you’re picking up the clue. Imply is when you’re suggesting it. Acronym. People use it a lot to mean initialism. If it’s read like a word - it’s an acronym. If you say the letters, it’s an initialism. Honorable mention to jealous/envious mix up." —HungaJungaESQ

" Less'. Because about 1/2 the time the word you mean is 'fewer'. 'Nauseous.' That means something that makes you nauseated. The correct word 'nauseated'. 'Jealous' is the fear of losing something you do already have, while 'envious' means wanting something you don't have. Most of these things have shifted meaning, so they fit how we use them because that's how language works, but these ones strike me a lot." —sgbenoit

"Using ironic when it's actually coincidental. I especially hate it in TV shows and movies when writers should know better." —shaft_of_lite

- YouTube www.youtube.com

"Intensive, like the 'purposes'." —Reasonable-Truck-874

"I don't have any idea why it bothers me so much, but I hate when people say 'hung' in reference to an execution rather than 'hanged'." — RepresentativeKey178

"Non-plussed. It means shocked by something into silence/an inability to respond, not to be unmoved by something." —CinemaDork

"Irregardless." —mystrymaster

@quick_english_tips

Regardless > irregardless #english #grammar #vocabulary #englishgrammar #englishvocabulary #englishlesson

"Seen. 'I seen it'." — Antique_Noise_8863

"Moreso. It’s more so, two words internet. I will die on this hill." — Rocketeli2

"Satire, honestly. I see it in comment sections on videos that are intended to be comedic, even ones with simple puns or dad jokes. Yes, satire is comedic, but not every joke on the internet is satire." — bitterlemonboy

"'This is an everyday thing' vs 'I do this every day'." —dumbass_777

@iamthatenglishteacher

In this short and practical grammar lesson, you’ll learn the difference between “everyday” (one word) and “every day” (two words)—a common mistake even seasoned writers make! Discover the simple trick: if you can say “every single day,” then it should be two words. Otherwise, it’s an adjective describing something ordinary or routine. This quick tip comes straight from my grammar guide and is perfect for ESL learners, students, and anyone looking to sharpen their writing skills. #EverydayVsEveryDay #GrammarTips #WritingMistakes #EnglishGrammarLesson #ESLLesson #DailyGrammar #LearnEnglish #GrammarMatters #GrammarGuide #StudyEnglish #AdjectiveVsAdverb #QuickGrammarTip #EverySingleDayTest

"I've seen 'redundant' get misused a lot. People treat it like it means 'useless' or 'inferior to other options'. It's supposed to mean something that duplicates the function of something else, and can be a positive feature, like a failsafe or additional oversight." —TheGrumpyre

"You don’t do diligence. You do your due diligence." — Ill_Pressure3893

"'Phase' instead of 'faze' grinds my gears." — matcha0atmilklatte

Images via Canva

People share commonly mispronounced words that annoy them.

Mispronouncing words happens to all of us. Even for the most diction and grammar literate, words can come out scrambled. But in the English language, some words are commonly mispronounced more than others—somehow becoming commonplace in our everyday language.

Mispronouncing words or phrases irks many people, and in a popular online forum, member @Wonderful-Economy762 posed this question about mispronounced words: "What is one word that people wrongly pronounce that makes your brain just wanna jump a cliff?" And its fellow members did not hold back.

Many shared their feelings about how it feels when they hear people mispronouncing them:

"My rage bubbled up faster than expected reading this," one wrote.

Another added, "Oh man, nails on a chalkboard. I instantly make unfair assumptions about the person who says this."

And another quipped, "Does it count if I do it on purpose to be obnoxious sometimes?"

These are 40 words that are commonly mispronounced that received a passionate mention–with many pointing out how to properly pronounce them.

"Supposably. When a grown adult says 'Supposably' to mean 'supposedly', they sound like a petulant infant who just threw their broccoli off of their high chair onto the ground." —@s7o0a0p

"Lie-berry." —@DixonHerbox

"Exspecially." —@iamhere-2

espresso, espresso shot, espresso cup, espresso drink, drink coffee Coffee Conan Obrien GIF by Team Coco Giphy

"eXpresso." —@Turbulent_Gene7017

"On accident. (You don’t say you did something on accident. You did something by accident." —@Throwaway7219017, @_incredigirl_

"'I could care less.' It's "I couldn't care less" which means you could NOT care less which means you DON'T CARE LOL." —@EmergencyPharmacy53

"Real-la-tor instead of real-tor." —@jajabibi67

"When people say Valentine’s Day as 'Valentimes day' 😭." —@Glittering_Pea5599

"Nuclear pronounced as 'New-queue-lur. Drives me bonkers!" —@Maleficent-Yam-5196

nuclear, nuclear bomb, nuclear test, nuclear boom, nuclear cloud Test Boom GIF Giphy

"Could of / should of / etc." —@Traditional_Goal6971

"Eggcetera." —@ufficient_Space8484

"Across. People here say 'acrost'. And I know it’s now accepted but it throws me when I hear people say 'axin' instead of 'asking'." —@UtahUtopia

"Irregardless." —@fineline3061

"For all INTENTS AND purposes." —@Doc308

mischief, mischievous, plotting, scheming, mischievous gif Youtube Evil Smile GIF by Best.Cover.Ever Giphy

"Mischievous. Miss-Chev-Us. But EVERYONE says Miss-Chee—VEE-us. I said it wrong for decades too." —@fleshvessel

"Amblance instead of Ambulance." —@katmcflame

"Pellow. Melk. Fustrated." —@KimboSliceChestHair

"Punkin instead of pumpkin." —@Geester43

italian, italy, italian gif, jersey shore, italian men Happy Italian GIF Giphy

"Italian. It's not Eyetalian." —@hairyairyolas

"Hot take…When did we start pronouncing the 'T' in 'often?' I was taught in school it was silent :)" —@SilentConstant2114

"Pacifically instead of specifically." —@PepsiMaxHoe

"Pitcher for picture." —@shnarfmaster3000

"'FentaNAHL'. It’s fentanyl." —@daveindo

champing, champing at the bit, mispronounced, mispronunciation, mispronounced word Get To The Point GIF by Aurora Consulting: Business, Insurance, Financing Experts Giphy

"I’m going to expose my middle-class here but it’s KEE-NWAH, not KIH-NOAH. And it’s ‘Champing at the bit’, not ‘chomping’." —@creator_chronicles

"Where people say 'seen' instead of 'saw'. 'I seen this car coming down the street...' My brain melts every time." —@Direct_Disaster9299

"Kindygarten, kiddygarden." —@NeverDidLearn

'Take for granite' u sound so dumb. Its GRANTED people." —@silly_creation650

strawberry, strawberries, berries, fruit, strawberry gif Strawberry GIF Giphy

"'Oh look! A strawbrery!'" —@WafflesTalbot

"'verbiage' as 'verb-uj'." —@valentinakontrabida

"Anyways. There is no 'S' in this." —@Zealousideal-Cook104

"Writing 'ect.' instead of 'etc.' and pronouncing it wrongly - 'eccetera' instead of 'et cetera'." —@KiwiFruit404

"Foyer. It's Foy-yay, not Foy-yer." —@hoosiergirl1962

birthday, birthday word, party, birthday party, birthday celebration What Is That Happy Birthday GIF by The Office Giphy

"There so many. Here are but a few. 'Burfday'. It’s birthday, damn it! 'Alls I know'. I want to rip my ears off. 'Ax' instead of 'ask'." —@mbc072558

"Poinsettia, people say it as pointsetta, it has irked me for years." —@dararie

"When people say 'pitcher' for 'picture'." —@Desperate_Holiday_78

This article originally appeared in May.

Culture

Old people admit the 45 Gen Z and Alpha slang words they secretly love

"I love using Sus and Sketch and my kids hate me for it."

Image via Canva

Old people share their favorite slang from Gen Z and Gen Alpha.

Keeping up with the latest slang is no easy feat. For older people trying to stay fresh with the ever-changing Gen Alpha slang and Gen Z slang, they have their work cut out for them. But many are keeping up.

In a Reddit forum, member @Final-Work2788 posed the question: "What slang that's come out in the past five years do you have to admit is kind of awesome?"

Boomers, Gen Xers, and more happily shared the slang words that they're obsessed with. These are 45 Gen Alpha and Gen Z slang terms that older people secretly love.

"''Skills Issue'." —@GrimaceMusically

"FAFO [f*ck around find out]. So useful!!" —@PrimarySelection8619

"I will always adore, and use at every occasion, the vaunted word 'YEET'." —@5ilvrtongue

yeet, yeeted, yeet word, yeet slang, yeet gif Rainbow Yes GIF by Lumi Giphy

"Slaps. There’s a lot of good new slang out there but this term slaps." —@robotlasagna

"Thirsty." —@Gloomy_Obligation333

"I love using Sus and Sketch and my kids hate me for it." —@bladel

"'Mid' does it’s job perfectly. So short. Anything truly 'mid' doesn’t require any more time/verbiage. 'It’s mid,' move on." —@bitsonchips

"That’s a banger, referring to a song. Also the term glazing." —@haf2go

rizz, rizzler, rizz word, rizz slang, rizz term Kids Dancing GIF Giphy

"I like rizz. It reminds of the Putting on the Ritz scene from Young Frankenstein." —@Niniva73

"Younger Aussies are saying 'cossie livs' for 'cost of living' issues. If you can't afford something it's 'cossie livs'. We'll make slang out of anything." —@Mash_man710

"I am Gen X. I love the term crashed out, or crashing out. My daughters say I am not allowed to use it though. I am not sure if it is a cultural appropriation thing or if they just think it’s cringe when I say it. I love it though. It’s very descriptive." —@Neat-Client9305

crash out, crashed out, crashing, crashin out, crash out slang Freak Out Rage GIF Giphy

"I love 'Menty B' for mental breakdown lol." —@philmajohnson

"'…with your whole chest'." —@Ok-Scallion9885

"I love Gen Z slang. Rizz is so creative. Gyat is hilarious. I have a son in middle school so I hear a lot of it. I’m Gen X and think it’s much cooler than what we came up with." —@HairyHorseKnuckles

"'Deplorean' for a Cybertruck, even though I am a Tesla owner. I don't hate Cybertrucks, I just think it's funny." —@AJ_Mexico

"Fire." —@keepsummersafe55

fire, that's fire, that's fire, gif, fire slang, fire word Shark Tank Rohan GIF by ABC Network Giphy

"I'm Cooked...as in sick or in a bad way." —@Scottishdog1120

"Oh, so many!
--Mid
--Okay, no
--Situationship
--Ded (and, the skull and crossbones emoji instead of LOL)
--that ATE (also: 'Ate and left no crumbs')
--era ('villain era')
--lowkey
--deadass
--SLAPS
--dripped out
--turnt
--a snack ('Girl looking like a SNACK')
--IYKYK." —@CatCafffffe

ate, ate slang, ate gif, she ate, ate term GIF by RuPaul's Drag Race Giphy

"Enshittification." —@Numerous_Problems

"Cap and no cap." —@ContributionOk9927

no cap, cap, cap gif, no cap slang, cap slang Paul Rudd Wear A Mask GIF by GIPHY News Giphy

"Cringe. It's perfect." —@meekonesfade

"Pedestrian. This one sums it up." —@PigpenD27870

"I kind of like deadass meaning for-real or I-shit-you-not. I’m too old to know if it’s within the last five years though." —@Tom__mm

deadass, deadass slang, deadass word, deadass phrase, deadass gif Blac Chyna GIF Giphy

"Skibidi is fun to say." —@BrooklynDoug

"Ohio. I lived there for six years and can confirm, it's Ohio." —@those_ribbon_things

"it's giving. sometimes something isn't necessarily 'like' a thing at all but it's gives you the same energy or vibes (i enjoy vibes too)." —@coolcoolcool485

"I don’t know why but I find it funny when kids say someone is a 'D1 Yapper.' They don’t just talk too much, or never shut up, they have been recruited to a Division 1 school for their yapping, haha." —@Impossible-Still-128

yap, yapper, yapping, yap slang, yap gif Chat Talking GIF Giphy

"My great niece asking me if I wanted the tea. I said no thanks, I'd just had coffee...boy did she laugh! And said NO, let me tell you want happened and laughed some more! I love that girl to pieces 🥰." —@Educational-Glass-63

"Brainrot. So appropriate for so much media (including what I'm doing here!)" —@rrddrrddrrdd

"De-lu-lu is my fave." —@recyclar13

delulu, delulu gif, delusional, delulu slang, delulu word Delulu GIF by Forabeli Beauty Giphy

"The comment, word, reply, phrase: 'Bet.' Like wtf does it mean and how did it derive to be so much yet so simple?

Q: 'Hey, you wanna go get something to eat?'
A: 'Bet.'
C: 'Dude, this song is freaking awesome!'
R: 'Bet.'
Q: "Hey, did you smash that last night?'
A: 'Bet, Bet!'
C: 'I can kick your ass!'
R: 'Bet.'
Q: 'You want some chips?' (A) 'Nah, I'm good.'
A: 'Bet.'" —@SomeMidnight