How do words get their meanings? Why does the string of letters (and sounds) "d-o-g" mean "dog" and "c-a-t" mean "cat"? For the most part, meanings are conventions: A group of people (like speakers of ...

Almost weekly, I talk about things in English that are difficult. Here's another for the mix. Sometimes, when two words are apart, they have one meaning. When they're put together to form one word, ...