Saturday, September 20, 2025

5 Words That Meant Something Completely Different 50 Years Ago

In 1974, a "tablet" was a slab of stone and a "meme" didn't even exist – here's how five everyday words have completely changed their meaning over the past five decades.
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5 Words That Meant Something Completely Different 50 Years Ago

In 1974, a "tablet" was a slab of stone and a "meme" didn't even exist – here's how five everyday words have completely changed their meaning over the past five decades.

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12 Shakespearean Phrases We Still Use Today

From the "green-eyed monster" to the first knock-knock joke, discover how Shakespeare's linguistic genius shaped the everyday phrases that still pepper our vocabulary — even if you think it's "all Greek to me."

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