Elizabeth Harrison

Across the Board In contemporary usage, this phrase indicates the inclusion of everyone or everything in a given scenario—such as across-the-board price cuts or across-the-board layoffs. At the track, an across-the-board bet is a wager on the same horse to win, to place and to show—effectively betting all the way across a single line of […]

There are many advantages and responsibilities that come with being the reigning monarch of England, but one surprising perk is getting two birthdays each year. This year Saturday, June 11 marks the Queen’s official birthday, and will be celebrated around the Commonwealth. However, Elizabeth II was actually born on April 21. The British monarch’s official […]

Nine surprising facts about the iconic founding document adopted on July 4, 1776.

Today the phrase “throw down the gauntlet” means to challenge or confront someone, but in its earliest use it wasn’t meant as a metaphor, but was a physical action intended to issue a formal challenge to a duel. The word itself comes from the French word “gantelet,” and referred to the heavy, armored gloves worn […]

Known to most of the rest of the world as football, or “fútbol,” the beautiful game is almost exclusively referred to as soccer in the United States. Why?