Jess Zafarris
@jesszafarris.com
Author of USELESS ETYMOLOGY, WORDS FROM HELL, ONCE UPON A WORD, INTO THE WORDS. Podcaster, Words Unravelled. Adjunct prof at Emerson and UFL. Speaker, content director, social pro, ad world wordsmith. https://linktr.ee/JessZafarris
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Jess Zafarris
@jesszafarris.com
· Aug 27
I delivered the closing keynote at the State of Social conference in Perth, Australia. The organizers told me they wouldn’t mind if I swore a bit, so I dropped a few amid a heap of etymology facts and encouragement not to let the chatbots dull our words and wit. Lovely feedback so far. 🩵
I long aspired to be like Granny Weatherwax when I grew up, but lately I've come to accept that, with the exception of the heap of children, I'm surely on track to become a Nanny Ogg. 🍻
October 12, 2026 at 1:36 PM
I long aspired to be like Granny Weatherwax when I grew up, but lately I've come to accept that, with the exception of the heap of children, I'm surely on track to become a Nanny Ogg. 🍻
If you do this, you might win a copy of one of my books + some Words Unravelled merch!
Announcing the Linguistic Zine Challenge!
Make or share a linguistics zine and tell us about it by the end of November, and you could win prizes! (oooh, prizes~~)
Thread, or here's a link for the blog fans: lingthusiasm.com/post/8299478...
Make or share a linguistics zine and tell us about it by the end of November, and you could win prizes! (oooh, prizes~~)
Thread, or here's a link for the blog fans: lingthusiasm.com/post/8299478...
October 11, 2026 at 11:09 PM
If you do this, you might win a copy of one of my books + some Words Unravelled merch!
I won an ad nerd game show with a book themed question. (I was losing at this point, but got lucky with the bonus points.)
Big thanks to Neuemotion and Ted Harrison, our host, and bravo to my brilliant co-contestants Natalie Fratto and Gail Amurao.
Big thanks to Neuemotion and Ted Harrison, our host, and bravo to my brilliant co-contestants Natalie Fratto and Gail Amurao.
October 11, 2026 at 3:54 PM
I won an ad nerd game show with a book themed question. (I was losing at this point, but got lucky with the bonus points.)
Big thanks to Neuemotion and Ted Harrison, our host, and bravo to my brilliant co-contestants Natalie Fratto and Gail Amurao.
Big thanks to Neuemotion and Ted Harrison, our host, and bravo to my brilliant co-contestants Natalie Fratto and Gail Amurao.
Mighty fine leaf peepin today
October 11, 2026 at 2:58 PM
Mighty fine leaf peepin today
It’s giveaway time!
Enter to win a copy of my upcoming book, Into the Words: An Etymologist’s Field Guide to Plants, Animals, and Nature, on Goodreads:
www.goodreads.com/book/show/24...
Enter to win a copy of my upcoming book, Into the Words: An Etymologist’s Field Guide to Plants, Animals, and Nature, on Goodreads:
www.goodreads.com/book/show/24...
Into the Words: An Etymologist's Field Guide to Plants,…
Which animal holds the record for having the most commo…
www.goodreads.com
October 9, 2026 at 8:54 PM
It’s giveaway time!
Enter to win a copy of my upcoming book, Into the Words: An Etymologist’s Field Guide to Plants, Animals, and Nature, on Goodreads:
www.goodreads.com/book/show/24...
Enter to win a copy of my upcoming book, Into the Words: An Etymologist’s Field Guide to Plants, Animals, and Nature, on Goodreads:
www.goodreads.com/book/show/24...
Fable is so photogenic that she looks AI-generated in some of these
(These were taken today on an iPhone 16 Pro and are unaltered aside from cropping and rotating)
(These were taken today on an iPhone 16 Pro and are unaltered aside from cropping and rotating)
October 9, 2026 at 4:49 PM
Fable is so photogenic that she looks AI-generated in some of these
(These were taken today on an iPhone 16 Pro and are unaltered aside from cropping and rotating)
(These were taken today on an iPhone 16 Pro and are unaltered aside from cropping and rotating)
Reposted by Jess Zafarris
Hey. The fragmentation of the social media landscape has been hard on indie #scicomm 🧪 projects
So if you'd like to follow a podcast that's enthusiastic about #linguistics, could you check out @lingthusiasm.com?
And if you think your followers might like to, could you give this a repost?
So if you'd like to follow a podcast that's enthusiastic about #linguistics, could you check out @lingthusiasm.com?
And if you think your followers might like to, could you give this a repost?
October 6, 2026 at 2:37 AM
Hey. The fragmentation of the social media landscape has been hard on indie #scicomm 🧪 projects
So if you'd like to follow a podcast that's enthusiastic about #linguistics, could you check out @lingthusiasm.com?
And if you think your followers might like to, could you give this a repost?
So if you'd like to follow a podcast that's enthusiastic about #linguistics, could you check out @lingthusiasm.com?
And if you think your followers might like to, could you give this a repost?
Omg, my friend suggested they be called ciao long bao
Italian soup dumplings should be a thing if they aren’t already
October 8, 2026 at 2:58 AM
Omg, my friend suggested they be called ciao long bao
Motion to start referring to any antlered deer or deer-like animal as a multicorn
October 8, 2026 at 2:52 AM
Motion to start referring to any antlered deer or deer-like animal as a multicorn
Italian soup dumplings should be a thing if they aren’t already
October 7, 2026 at 11:14 PM
Italian soup dumplings should be a thing if they aren’t already
The latest episode of Words Unravelled takes us around the globe once again to explore the origins of global cities, from Granada and Medina to Melbourne and Rio de Janeiro.
Take a world tour with @robwords.com and me! www.youtube.com/watch?v=foQR...
Take a world tour with @robwords.com and me! www.youtube.com/watch?v=foQR...
October 7, 2026 at 4:06 PM
The latest episode of Words Unravelled takes us around the globe once again to explore the origins of global cities, from Granada and Medina to Melbourne and Rio de Janeiro.
Take a world tour with @robwords.com and me! www.youtube.com/watch?v=foQR...
Take a world tour with @robwords.com and me! www.youtube.com/watch?v=foQR...
My Chambers etymology books are the Powerpuff Girls
October 5, 2026 at 2:09 PM
My Chambers etymology books are the Powerpuff Girls
Good day for foraging!
October 4, 2026 at 2:54 PM
Good day for foraging!
One of my dogs ran away for about an hour this morning (he's home safe now!), and I am so drained from the adrenaline spike that I'm tempted to declare the day a wash and just start the weekend now.
October 2, 2026 at 2:20 PM
One of my dogs ran away for about an hour this morning (he's home safe now!), and I am so drained from the adrenaline spike that I'm tempted to declare the day a wash and just start the weekend now.
One podcast was simply not enough!
My coauthor Shannon Miller and I started a casual little pod called Ms. Miscellany. For our first episode it's just us, but in the following episodes we'll interview interesting people about their career twists and the fun facts they've learned along the way.
My coauthor Shannon Miller and I started a casual little pod called Ms. Miscellany. For our first episode it's just us, but in the following episodes we'll interview interesting people about their career twists and the fun facts they've learned along the way.
October 1, 2026 at 4:03 PM
One podcast was simply not enough!
My coauthor Shannon Miller and I started a casual little pod called Ms. Miscellany. For our first episode it's just us, but in the following episodes we'll interview interesting people about their career twists and the fun facts they've learned along the way.
My coauthor Shannon Miller and I started a casual little pod called Ms. Miscellany. For our first episode it's just us, but in the following episodes we'll interview interesting people about their career twists and the fun facts they've learned along the way.
FUCK YEAH BACKPACK
So where are we all standing on Fat Bear Week?
I've seen a bunch of people calling it for 910, and I wouldn't be disappointed (oh yeah, she chonky). Bucky's transformation is dramatic as hell, and Walker clearly has the most caked up hiney.
But I still think everyone's sleeping on Backpack.
I've seen a bunch of people calling it for 910, and I wouldn't be disappointed (oh yeah, she chonky). Bucky's transformation is dramatic as hell, and Walker clearly has the most caked up hiney.
But I still think everyone's sleeping on Backpack.
September 30, 2026 at 11:58 PM
FUCK YEAH BACKPACK
Tried to make Fable a ghost costume and found it’s a bit harder than it looks
Will update with attempt no. 2
Will update with attempt no. 2
September 30, 2026 at 9:51 PM
Tried to make Fable a ghost costume and found it’s a bit harder than it looks
Will update with attempt no. 2
Will update with attempt no. 2
Gaahhh my publisher has copies in London but I don’t have mine yet! Gimmegimmegimme
September 30, 2026 at 8:13 PM
Gaahhh my publisher has copies in London but I don’t have mine yet! Gimmegimmegimme
Someone hit me with the whole "fuck is an acronym" myth yesterday, so here's a reminder of why that claim makes absolutely no fucking sense. (And shit isn't an acronym either!)
uselessetymology.com/2026/09/29/f...
uselessetymology.com/2026/09/29/f...
“Fuck” Isn’t an Acronym, and Other Etymological Fuckery
The following is a modified excerpt from my second book, Words from Hell. Many armchair etymologists like to claim that the infamous F-bomb is an acronym, standing for phrases such as “fornication …
uselessetymology.com
September 29, 2026 at 5:00 PM
Someone hit me with the whole "fuck is an acronym" myth yesterday, so here's a reminder of why that claim makes absolutely no fucking sense. (And shit isn't an acronym either!)
uselessetymology.com/2026/09/29/f...
uselessetymology.com/2026/09/29/f...
Got my first four-digit book royalty payment (beyond advances) 🥲
Just a reminder that even when you've sold 80K+ copies, authors do it for the love of the story and definitely not for the money 😆
Thanks to everyone who bought a book!
Just a reminder that even when you've sold 80K+ copies, authors do it for the love of the story and definitely not for the money 😆
Thanks to everyone who bought a book!
September 29, 2026 at 2:43 PM
Got my first four-digit book royalty payment (beyond advances) 🥲
Just a reminder that even when you've sold 80K+ copies, authors do it for the love of the story and definitely not for the money 😆
Thanks to everyone who bought a book!
Just a reminder that even when you've sold 80K+ copies, authors do it for the love of the story and definitely not for the money 😆
Thanks to everyone who bought a book!
I have three dogs, a cat, and a turtle because law, convention, and safety prevent me from living my true dreams
September 28, 2026 at 7:05 PM
I have three dogs, a cat, and a turtle because law, convention, and safety prevent me from living my true dreams
Online personality evaluations are always like "I would rather go to a library than to a party" and there's never an option for "I would rather go to a party AT the library"
September 27, 2026 at 10:55 PM
Online personality evaluations are always like "I would rather go to a library than to a party" and there's never an option for "I would rather go to a party AT the library"
Eleven years ago today, I married this guy!
September 26, 2026 at 5:22 PM
Eleven years ago today, I married this guy!
Weirdest thing I’ve seen at the Big E today
September 25, 2026 at 7:23 PM
Weirdest thing I’ve seen at the Big E today
Stop—grammar time.
In about 20 minutes, I'm going to be on a Grammar Girl Game Show! Come root for team MC GRAMMAR!
www.quickanddirtytips.com/GGliveevent
In about 20 minutes, I'm going to be on a Grammar Girl Game Show! Come root for team MC GRAMMAR!
www.quickanddirtytips.com/GGliveevent
Twenty Years of Grammar Girl, and You Are Invited! - Quick and Dirty Tips
Grammar Girl Live Game Show! Today is the day! Grammarpalooza, our Grammar Girl 20th anniversary game show, starts at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. Watch on YouTube, Facebook or LinkedIn. If the video doesn’...
www.quickanddirtytips.com
September 24, 2026 at 11:37 PM
Stop—grammar time.
In about 20 minutes, I'm going to be on a Grammar Girl Game Show! Come root for team MC GRAMMAR!
www.quickanddirtytips.com/GGliveevent
In about 20 minutes, I'm going to be on a Grammar Girl Game Show! Come root for team MC GRAMMAR!
www.quickanddirtytips.com/GGliveevent