FOLK ETYMOLOGY: The phrase "folk etymology" refers to fictictious accounts of the origins of words or phrases. For example, "hold your horses" does not involve any wordplay with the word "stable". Similarly, the word "crap" does not come from the historical plumber Thomas Crapper.

A OR AN?: "Herb" is an interesting word. In the United States, the H is generally silent; conversely, in other regions, the H may be pronounced. This means that whether you write "a herb" or "an herb", you are technically correct.

MORE PALINDROMES: Here's another good one for you. "Cigar? Toss it in a can. It is so tragic." These wise words advising against smoking hold true whether you read the sentence forward or backwards.

PALINDROMES: What do "dad", "mom", and "racecar" have in common? They are palindromes, meaning they are spelled the same forward and backwards. Some sentences are palindromes, too, such as "Go hang a salami, I'm a lasagna hog."

SOUNDALIKES: "Eggcorns" are sayings derived from mishearings of words and phrases that may seem correct at a glance. Some examples of these are "for all intensive purposes" (for all intents and purposes), "Old Timers' Disease" (Alzheimer's Disease), and, of course, "eggcorn" (acorn).

DIFFERENT G: The pronunciation of "gif" is the subject of a now-exhausted debate. However, there are other words where both hard G and soft G pronunciations are acceptable, including "fungi" and "longitude".

CALENDAR CHANGES: September, October, November, and December used to be the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth months of the year, respectively. These placements are denoted by the prefixes in their names: sept-, oct-, nov-, and dec-. (Think heptagons/septagons, octagons, nonagons, and decagons.)

SOUND IT OUT: Did you know letters in the English alphabet have full, spelled-out names? El, em, en, es, and ex are self-explanatory. However, some of the more eye-catching ones include aitch, cue, and wye.

COUNTING: Here's a classic conundrum. If you start counting at the number one, how far do you have to go before encountering a number with the letter "A"? The answer is a thousand. You have to go even further to find a number with the letter "B"...

ALTERNATE ELEMENTS: Did you know that three of the elements on the periodic table have alternate spellings? For example, "aluminum" and "cesium" are spelled "aluminium" and "caesium" in certain regions. Additionally, "sulphur" is still sometimes seen instead of "sulfur".

ANAGRAMS AND SYNONYMS: Some pairs of words not only mean the same thing but consist of the same letters rearranged, too. A few examples of these include "aye/yea", "evil/vile", and "angered/enraged".

ITS OWN OPPOSITE: A "contranym" is a word that can be an antonym of itself in certain contexts. For example, "oversight" can refer to the act of remaining watchful. On the other hand, an oversight can also mean a failure to notice something.

FIFTH ESSENCE: "Quintessential", meaning the most typical or purest example of a category, is derived from the "fifth essence" of the classical elements. Unlike fire, wind, water, and earth, the fifth essence, aether, was the pure, heavenly substance in which the celestial bodies were housed.

TRIPLE DOUBLE LETTERS: Many English words have double letters in them, such as "book", "cheese", and "seller". Some words have more unusual sets of double letters, such as "jackknife", "powwow", and "vacuum". The word "bookkeeping" has a remarkable three sets of double letters in a row.

VOWEL TREE: The "sequoia", a kind of redwood tree, is found in California and the Pacific Northwest. Its name is unique because it is one of the shortest words to have all five vowels in it.

Q WITHOUT U: The loanword "qi" refers to a vital force that exists in all living beings. This concept stems from East Asian cultures and proves a useful Scrabble word. The word serves as a Scrabble-legal powerhouse and can also be spelled as "chi" or "ki".