Word drift

Clergymen used to warn against using the word "darn": Here's the story

Words you once heard in a certain context may no longer mean the same thing today. Many terms we use comfortably in casual conversation were once considered shocking profanities or deeply offensive, and the journey from taboo to tame is often more surprising than you'd expect. We've all muttered "darn it" after spilling coffee on a clean shirt, or exclaimed "oh my gosh!" when a friend shared an unexpected piece of news, without giving it a second thought. Find out what really happened to these 10 words that used to be understood very differently.

It slips out easily in moments of surprise, like if someone told you you won the lottery, or mild frustration, like when the neighbor’s kid is making a racket when you’re trying to take a nap. But back in the 18th century, it was once considered a sneaky form of blasphemy.

"Gosh" emerged as a way to avoid saying "God," which many considered taking the Lord's name in vain. Ironically, the very attempt to be polite was itself seen as deceitful and irreverent.

We say it when we stub a toe or realize we forgot something at the grocery store. But "darn," a minced oath for "damn," was once viewed with suspicion precisely because of its apparent innocence, considered a sly, morally dishonest attempt to skirt around profanity while still invoking its spirit. Clergymen and etiquette guides alike warned against it as far back as the 19th century.

The edge wore off as the word passed from generation to generation, until all that remained was something almost endearing.

You might say it when you realize you've locked your keys in the car or knocked your phone off the counter. Hard to believe, then, that as recently as the early 20th century, this word was once a coarse and genuinely taboo scatological term.

Over time, as informal speech became more accepted in public life, it gradually shed its shock value, until it landed where it is today: mild enough to appear in mainstream advertising.

Today, "brass" mostly calls to mind a shiny metal or a jazz band. But, in 16th and 17th-century England, it was used as slang for a person's backside or private parts.

As the slang faded from common use, the word returned to its more literal, respectable meanings.

It sounds almost charming today; something a grandparent might say when they can't find their glasses. In the 17th and 18th centuries, however, it was used deliberately to replace much stronger expletives, carrying a weight that the whimsical word no longer suggests.

You hear it in movies, in song lyrics, in everyday frustration. But for much of Western history, well into the 19th century, "damn" was grave religious profanity, implying a wish for someone's eternal punishment.

Its sting faded as religious language lost its grip on everyday speech throughout the 20th century.

Today, the word sounds almost theatrical, something out of a period drama. From the Middle Ages through the 19th century, it was a sharp and damaging insult used against women considered to be of loose morals.

Over time, as the social and moral frameworks that gave the word its power shifted, it retreated into archaism.

You might come across it in a Victorian novel and barely notice it. At the time, throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, it was a loaded minced oath for "God," and using it in polite society was considered outright blasphemy.

As religious strictures relaxed in the 20th century, the word lost its charge entirely.

These days, it's just a small, mouse-like mammal. But from the Middle Ages all the way through the 19th century, "shrew" was a vicious, misogynistic insult hurled at women considered argumentative or difficult.

Increased awareness of gendered language throughout the 20th century helped strip the word of its insulting edge, though Shakespeare's use of it still raises eyebrows.

We use it to express emphasis, disbelief, or frustration without a second thought. Once, however, – particularly through the 18th and 19th centuries – "hell" was reserved almost exclusively for warnings of divine judgment, and invoking it casually was seen as deeply irreverent.

As religious language became less central to everyday life in the 20th century, the word's fearful charge slowly dissolved.

Decoding language

The secret history of punctuation marks: From commas to ampersands

Image: Samuel Ramos

Punctuation shapes how we read, write, and think—yet it often goes unnoticed until its absence makes a sentence hard to understand. Most punctuation marks weren’t always part of the language; many have surprising backstories, and some are even relatively recent additions to English grammar. Here are the stories behind 10 marks that give structure—and meaning—to our sentences.

Image: Randy Tarampi

The period began as a simple dot used by Aristophanes of Byzantium to mark the end of a sentence. Its purpose was to improve clarity in long manuscripts, at a time when spaces between words did not exist.

Over the centuries, it evolved into the familiar punctuation mark we know today, becoming a universal symbol of grammatical correctness.

Image: Jacob Pretorius

The comma was added in the 3rd century BCE to indicate a brief pause while reading aloud. Its name comes from the Greek komma, meaning "a piece cut off."

It was later popularized in the Renaissance to structure complex sentences, helping writers convey rhythm and meaning more clearly.

Image: Annie Spratt

Italian printer Aldus Manutius introduced the semicolon in 1494 to separate closely related independent clauses.

It became a favorite among scholars, as it allowed nuanced connections between ideas without fully breaking a sentence.

Image: Connor Pope

The colon was also popularized by Manutius, used to introduce lists or explanations.

It historically guided readers in written speeches or complex texts, marking a shift in thought or attention to important details.

Image: Uladzislau Petrushkevich

The question mark likely comes from the Latin word quaestio, which was often abbreviated as ‘qo’ at the end of sentences.

Scribes eventually stylized the abbreviation into the curved mark we use today, which has become a universal signal for a question or inquiry.

Image: James Orr

Introduced in the 16th century, the apostrophe marks omitted letters and abbreviations, as in don’t from do not.

It also indicates possession in English; however, its use in that sense didn’t become standardized until the 18th century.

Image: Tim Mossholder

The hyphen emerged in the Middle Ages to join words or split lines. Printers sometimes used it to avoid awkward spacing.

Today, it joins compounds like well-being or divides words at line breaks, helping preserve clarity in written language.

Image: Brett Jordan

Parentheses were introduced in the 15th century to provide supplemental information without breaking the main text.

They guide readers through secondary thoughts, examples, or clarifications more efficiently.

Image: John Murphey

Did you know that the ampersand is a ligature of the letters "e" and "t"? Together, they form et, the Latin word for "and."

Used since Roman times, it became a typographical shorthand as well as a symbol of elegance in logos and design.

Image: Laura España

Created in 1962 by Martin K. Speckter, the interrobang combines a question mark and an exclamation mark into a single symbol.

It expresses surprise and inquiry simultaneously, though it never became a standard punctuation mark. However, using both signs together is common in comic books and informal writing to convey the same effect.