Code Switch: Word Watch Each week, we take a look at a word or phrase that's caught our attention, whether for its history, usage, etymology, or just because it has an interesting story. This week, we look into how we came to call cannabis "marijuana," and the role Mexico played in that shift.

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Code Switch: Word Watch

The Racial History Of The 'Grandfather Clause'

This editorial cartoon from a January 1879 edition of Harper's Weekly pokes fun at the use of literacy tests for blacks as voting qualifications. Wikimedia Commons hide caption

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Wikimedia Commons

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The Racial History Of The 'Grandfather Clause'

October 22, 2013 • Companies and individuals are considered grandfathered and exempt from new sets of regulations all the time. But the term and the concept date from the era of segregation that followed the Civil War.

The History Of How A Shogun's Boast Made Lincoln A 'Tycoon'

The arrival of Commodore Matthew C. Perry's "black ships" in Tokyo Bay in 1853 helped persuade the Japanese to negotiate a treaty. Perry had more firepower than all the coastal artillery defending Tokyo Bay. AP hide caption

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The History Of How A Shogun's Boast Made Lincoln A 'Tycoon'

October 14, 2013 • What do Commodore Matthew Perry, President Abraham Lincoln and writer F. Scott Fitzgerald have in common? Go ahead and guess. The answer involves an inferiority complex, a nickname and a novel cut short by the author's untimely death.

How Far Is It To The 'Boondocks'? Try The Philippines

The "boondocks" or "boonies" refers to places that are in the middle of nowhere. But few people know that the phrase was made mainstream by a fatal military training accident. iStockphoto.com hide caption

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iStockphoto.com

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How Far Is It To The 'Boondocks'? Try The Philippines

October 7, 2013 • For more than half a century, Americans have used "the boondocks" or "the boonies" to refer to a place in the middle of nowhere. But few people know that the phrase is a relic of American military occupation in the Philippines that was brought into the mainstream by a fatal training accident.

It's estimated that 4,743 Americans were lynched between 1882 and 1968. A large majority of those victims were black. Library of Congress hide caption

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Library of Congress

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Tracing The Story Of 'Lynch Mob'

September 30, 2013 • Last week, the CEO of AIG invoked the phrase "lynch mob" to compare the vitriolic reaction his company received about its employees' 2009 bonuses. Lynching was so common that a writer even referred to it being as "American as apple pie."

So where did the phrase "call a spade a spade" come from? andrewasmith/via Flickr hide caption

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andrewasmith/via Flickr

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Is It Racist To 'Call A Spade A Spade'?

September 23, 2013 • For almost half a millennium, the phrase "call a spade a spade" has served as a demand to "tell it like it is." It is only in the past century that the expression began to acquire a negative, racial overtone.

Why Do We Describe Asian Eyes As 'Almond-Shaped'?

The shape of Asian eyes has been compared to almonds by Westerners for centuries. iStockphoto.com hide caption

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iStockphoto.com

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Why Do We Describe Asian Eyes As 'Almond-Shaped'?

September 16, 2013 • TV personality Julie Chen's recent revelation about getting plastic surgery to make her eyes look "less Chinese" has renewed a long-running discussion about how to describe an Asian person's eyes.

The History Behind The Phrase 'Don't Be An Indian Giver'

Explorers Lewis and Clark were offended by a trade-gone-wrong and wrote in their journals that the group of Indians they interacted with were "forward and impertinent, and thievish." Wikimedia Commons hide caption

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Wikimedia Commons

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The History Behind The Phrase 'Don't Be An Indian Giver'

September 2, 2013 • Did the phrase 'Indian Giver' come from a cultural misunderstanding?

Made from the oil of the Chinese water snake, which is rich in the omega-3 acids that help reduce inflammation, snake oil in its original form was effective, especially when used to treat arthritis and bursitis. Jagrap/Flickr hide caption

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Jagrap/Flickr

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A History Of 'Snake Oil Salesmen'

August 26, 2013 • Where'd the phrase "Snake Oil Salesman" come from? It conjures up images of seedy profiteers trying to exploit an unsuspecting public by selling them fake cures.

In 2007, the NAACP held a mock burial for the N-word to symbolize its campaign to stamp out the word's usage. But it's proved to be a hardy foe. Carlos Osorio/AP hide caption

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Carlos Osorio/AP