After a rousing toast, people may express their agreement through clapping, raising their glasses, or yelling “here, here” — or is it “hear, hear”? The phrase is widespread, but since it’s usually spoken, the spelling isn’t often questioned. But do you know which is the correct version? The verb “hear” and the adverb “here” are homophones, meaning they have the same pronunciation.

“Here” denotes place, so “here, here” could reasonably explain you’re in the same place as someone. However, when you want to agree with someone, “hear, hear” is correct. 

In the United Kingdom, members of Parliament are discouraged from applauding, but even hundreds of years ago, they wanted a way to show solidarity with a speaker. To confirm consensus, people in the House of Lords and House of Commons yelled “hear him, hear him” in the 17th century as a way to demand that everyone listen to the person making the point. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the written origin to 1689 in reference to agreeing with someone in the English Parliament. By 1868, the abbreviated cry of “hear, hear!” as a cheer or exclamation was widespread. It was a common enough exclamation to noun-ify it, and the British prime minister called those using the phrase the “hear-hearers.” 

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If you’re not a member of Parliament bound by historical convention, you can still use “hear, hear” in regular conversation. Whatever you want to emphasize, yelling “hear, hear!” is the equivalent of “they’re right!” or in today’s parlance, a succinct “heard.”

The first three words actor Matthew McConaughey  ever said on film were: “Alright, alright, alright.” The hallmark line from the film Dazed and Confused (1993) became a pop culture phenomenon, even though, as McConaughey writes in his book Greenlights, it was improvised. To the dismay of many English teachers, the casual, throwaway nature of the line helped popularize the spelling “alright” instead of the more formal “all right.” However, the single-word spelling — McConaughey’s version — is actually the original version and is permissible by modern standards, even if some grammarians still question its legitimacy.

Today, both terms are widely accepted in casual writing and are recognized by major dictionaries, but the question remains: What is the difference between them? The only notable difference we can find is their age. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “alright” is the older term, first emerging over a millennium ago in Old English as ealrihte, meaning “exactly” or “just.” Its spelling fluctuated over the next few centuries, with variations including eallriht and alrightes. Around 1175, we see a two-word version, all rihht, indicating a long history of flip-flopping between one word and two.

In a nutshell, “all right” and “alright” are synonyms with many uses, and each is listed in the Merriam-Webster dictionary under the same entry. As adjectives, they can mean “satisfactory” (“Everything’s alright”), “safe” (“We’re going to be all right“), or “good” (“You’re alright with me”). When using either term as an adverb, it can indicate certainty (“He failed the exam all right”) or adequacy (“I did alright on the review”). Often used as interjections, “alright” and “all right” can also signal the start of a new thought or action, as in “Alright, let’s begin.” Remember, either term is an appropriate substitution in any of these examples.

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The main issue of the debate lies in formality. Some argue “alright” is too informal or slangy due to its abbreviated form, while others assert there’s no meaningful distinction between the two. When in doubt, opt for the two-word version in very formal writing contexts. But if the extended cut doesn’t fit the tone, feel free to use the compact “alright,” knowing you haven’t broken any grammar laws.

The Irish language has given us an abundance of lively expressions, but during a recent visit to the Emerald Isle, I came across one word that we don’t often hear on this side of the Atlantic: “craic.” While enjoying a cherished Irish pastime — a pint at a pub among good company — my husband and I noticed several staff sporting T-shirts emblazoned with the phrase “Real Craic.” Curious, we asked our server about it, and with a smile, he explained, “It means you’re having a good time — a lot of fun!” If there’s one thing you can always count on in Éire (the Irish-language version of the country name), there’s always plenty of craic to be had.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, our server’s definition was spot-on. Pronounced just like the English word “crack,” craic refers to “fun, amusement; entertaining company or conversation.” This Irish term rose to popularity in the late 1970s as a catchphrase on the Irish-language TV variety program SBB ina Shuí, where it was used in the phrase, “beidh ceol, caint agus craic againn,” meaning “we will have music, talk, and fun.”

Because the Scottish Gaelic and Irish languages are so intertwined, craic crossed the Irish Sea to the United Kingdom, where I spotted it again later in my trip. The slang word seemed to be just as popular in Scotland, where I found it written on a keepsake mug, now one of my favorite souvenirs. 

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Today, as Queen’s University Belfast notes, craic is widely used in casual conversation to describe anything that promises enjoyment. It’s often paired with complimentary adjectives such as “good,” “real,” or “great.” For example, the friend who always has a joke is “good craic,” and that long-anticipated summer concert? That’ll be “great craic.” Similarly, if you’re doing something “for the craic,” it’s simply “just for fun.” And try adopting the classic Irish greeting: “What’s the craic?” — a casual, friendly way of asking “What’s up?” or “How are you?”

As you gear up for some “real craic” on St. Patrick’s Day, don’t forget to embrace this quintessentially Irish term. It’s a perfect way to add a bit of authentic spirit from the Emerald Isle into your celebrations. Sláinte! (Health! Or Cheers!)

Long before horror author Stephen King was on bestseller lists, Shakespeare was making the ides of March sound pretty scary in his play Julius Caesar. In Act 1, the soothsayer Artemidorus warns Caesar to “beware the ides of March” shortly before his assassination on that fated day. Were the ides to blame for Caesar’s death? Should we also be wary of these ides?

The answer is no, as “ides” is simply an ancient Roman term for the day that falls in the middle of a month. It refers to the 15th day of March, May, July, and October, and the 13th day of other months. The Roman calendar was a lunar calendar, and the dates weren’t based around the concept of a week, but instead around the phases of the moon. It’s also important to note the Romans didn’t number the days of the months sequentially; their day planners (if they existed) were based around three key moments: “kalends” (the first of the month), “nones” (the ninth day before the ides), and “ides” (the 13th or 15th, depending on the month). We get the word “calendar” from the Latin kalends. 

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Here’s how this system worked in practice, using March as an example. What we call March 1 was the “kalends of March.” March 2 through March 6 were called “X days before the nones of March,” March 7 translated to the “nones of March,” March 8 through March 14 were “X days before the ides of March,” and March 15 was the “ides of March.” The 16th through the last day of the month were “X days before the kalends of April.”

While the phrase “ides of March” may be particularly famous due to Julius Caesar, it’s just another day, at the end of the day. We hope you take solace in knowing there’s nothing to be wary of.