From Buenos Aires to Bangkok, Montreal to Moscow, the languages may differ, but nearly every taxi driver or street vendor in the world understands one word made famous during a raucous U.S.

Only Slate Plus members can gift Slate stories. Become a member to share 10 free articles a month. Excerpted from Alphabetical: How Every Letter Tells a Story, by Michael Rosen, out now from ...

Probably there are as many theories about the origins of "OK" as there are theorists to expound them, but Allan Metcalf is satisfied that he knows the only one that really holds water. Relying on the ...