https://meaning.todayPlain-English explanations of unusual and everyday words, with pronunciation, origins and real examples.Arial is the name of a widely used sans-serif typeface. It is easy to confuse its spelling with Ariel, a personal and fictional-character name, or with aerial, meaning related to the air.https://meaning.today/arialhttps://meaning.today/arialTue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTA horseshoe is a curved metal fitting attached to a horse’s hoof for protection. The word can also describe a U-shaped mustache that runs down beside the mouth.https://meaning.today/horseshoehttps://meaning.today/horseshoeTue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTA minion is a person who serves or follows someone more powerful, often doing their bidding without much independence.https://meaning.today/minionhttps://meaning.today/minionTue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTA muffin is an individual-sized baked food. In North America it usually means a soft, often sweet, cup-shaped quick bread; in Britain, a muffin traditionally means a flat, round bread that is split and toasted.https://meaning.today/muffinhttps://meaning.today/muffinTue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTA poodle is a dog breed known for its curly coat and intelligence. Figuratively, calling someone another person’s poodle suggests they are overly obedient or dependent.https://meaning.today/poodlehttps://meaning.today/poodleTue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTA puppet is a figure moved by a performer using strings, rods or hands. It can also mean a person or organization controlled by someone else.https://meaning.today/puppethttps://meaning.today/puppetTue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTA walrus is a large Arctic marine mammal with long tusks and prominent whiskers. A walrus mustache is a thick, bushy mustache that hangs over the upper lip.https://meaning.today/walrushttps://meaning.today/walrusTue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTALIBIS is the plural of alibi. Alibis are accounts or evidence that someone was somewhere else when an event, often a crime, took place. In everyday speech, they can also mean excuses.https://meaning.today/alibishttps://meaning.today/alibisTue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTTo blather is to talk at length without saying anything of much value. As a noun, blather is that kind of talk.https://meaning.today/blatherhttps://meaning.today/blatherTue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTA chevron is a V-shaped mark or pattern, such as the stripes on a sergeant's sleeve or the zigzag on a patterned fabric.https://meaning.today/chevronhttps://meaning.today/chevronTue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTEscrow is an arrangement where money or property is held by a neutral third party until the conditions of a deal have been met.https://meaning.today/escrowhttps://meaning.today/escrowTue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTA gondola is a long, narrow boat with a high bow and stern, traditionally moved with a single oar and best known from Venice.https://meaning.today/gondolahttps://meaning.today/gondolaTue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTA kaleidoscope is a tube with mirrors and loose colored pieces inside that makes shifting symmetrical patterns as you turn it. It also describes any colorful, changing mix.https://meaning.today/kaleidoscopehttps://meaning.today/kaleidoscopeTue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTA nettle is a plant whose leaves are covered in stinging hairs. As a verb, to nettle someone is to irritate or annoy them.https://meaning.today/nettlehttps://meaning.today/nettleTue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTPique is a flash of irritation after your pride is hurt. As a verb, it means to irritate someone, or to stir up a feeling such as curiosity.https://meaning.today/piquehttps://meaning.today/piqueTue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTA stooge is someone who goes along with another person's wishes and is used for that person's benefit, often as a dupe.https://meaning.today/stoogehttps://meaning.today/stoogeMon, 19 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTA sweetbread is the thymus gland or the pancreas of an animal, usually a calf or lamb, cooked and eaten as food.https://meaning.today/sweetbreadhttps://meaning.today/sweetbreadTue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTA vaporetto is a public water bus that runs scheduled routes along the canals and lagoon of Venice, Italy.https://meaning.today/vaporettohttps://meaning.today/vaporettoTue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT