The phrase 'rule of thumb' is derived from and old English law which stated that you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.
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The word 'News' is actually an acronym standing for the 4 cardinal compass points - North, East, West, and South!
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Shakespeare's works contain first-ever recordings of 2,035 English words, including critical, frugal, excellent, barefaced, assassination, and countless.
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French was the official language of England for over 600 years.
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The word "impossible" dropped in use by 50% over the course of the 20th century
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The sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog." uses every letter of the alphabet!
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More people in China speak English than in the United States.
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A legend suggests that clans of long ago that wanted to get rid of their unwanted people without killing them used to burn their houses down - hence the expression "to get fired."
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