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.
Special Series
Code Switch: Word Watch
Reaching for the check like... Maskot/Getty Images hide caption
Former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke (third from left) speaks as Sens. Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar look on during the first night of the Democratic presidential debate, Wednesday in Miami. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption
Cry me a river, because I cried a river over you. Martin Leigh/Getty Images hide caption
Civil rights activists are blocked by National Guardsmen brandishing bayonets while trying to stage a protest on Beale Street in Memphis, Tenn. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images hide caption
Engraving shows the arrival of a Dutch slave ship with a group of African slaves for sale, Jamestown, Va., 1619. Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption
A runner passes a ghostly sculpture on display between Bondi Beach and Tamarama Beach in Sydney. Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
In a country where the share of multiracial children has multiplied tenfold in the past 50 years, it's a good time to take stock of our shared vocabulary when it comes to describing Americans like me. Jeannie Phan for NPR hide caption
Construction of the Panama Canal Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption
What you find when you search for "hapa" images on Flickr â "Limited Time"! istolethetv/Flickr hide caption
Almost there! Always delayed. iStockphoto hide caption
Yes, this ad was really in the newspaper – from the October 1, 1922 New York Tribune. Library of Congress hide caption