
You learn | You never forget
It's OK to not be OK, as long as you don't stay that way.
This is the most recognizable word on the planet.

In any country, any languageβ¦
If I show you this π gesture, I'm sure you'll immediately recognize its meaning.
Probably, you use it every single day.
But do you know what OK actually means?
And where did it come from?
Here's what we got for you today:
π€¦π½ββοΈ Boston, itβs your fault
ποΈ The OKβs father
πThe machine that made OK a pop star
Read time: 5 min 21 sec

WHY WE SAY βOKβ
π€¦π½ββοΈ Boston, itβs your fault

Believe it or not, OK is the result of a spelling mistake.
In the 1830s, fad young intellectual types in Boston, Massachusetts created this joke about intentionally misspelling abbreviations.
Such as:
KC β βKnuff cedβ
KY β βKnow yuseβ
OW β βOll wrigthβ
Luckily, one abbreviation rose above the rest: OK β βOll Korrectβ.
Yep! OK, means βAll Correctβ. Now it makes sense, βwrightβ?π
In the earlier 1830s, βall correctβ was a common phrase to confirm that everything was in order.
This abbreviation started to become mainstream on March 23, 1839, when OK was published for the first time in the Boston Morning Post.

Boston Morning Post via newspaperarchive.com / Illustration by Madeline Bilis
After that, the joke spread quickly around the US, with other papers posting about it too.
But, this was only the beginningβ¦
What made OK to become an icon of the pop culture was a politician.
ποΈ The OKβs father

OK, grew in popularity when the reelection campaign of a US president from Kinderhook, New York took place in 1840. **Save the name of this town.
His name? Martin Van Buren.
He adopted the name of his hometown as a nickname.
The message to US people was pretty clear: Old Kinderhook was βOll Korrectβ β OK.
Itβs genius, isnβt it?
Well, maybe not so muchβ¦
His opponents ended up using the OK abbreviation against him.
OK, it turned:
Orful Konspirancy,
Orful Katastrophe
And etc
OK didnβt save Bureβs campaign, but OK became fashionable, and it consolidated itself in American culture.
However, what made OK become an international word and recognized by all nations was the invention of a revolutionary machineβthe Telegraph.
πThe machine that made OK a βpop starβ

The telegraph was invented in 1844, just 5 years after OK.
It was a safe and quick way to send messages across the country.
Using the combination of dots β.β and dashes β-β it was possible to send messages by electric impulses.
Each combination of dots and dashes means a letter of the alphabet.

The combination of O and K itβs simple to reproduce and to understand.
According to the old manuals of the telegraph, the word OK became the standard signal for the end of a message.
So, to make sure the operator finishes his message, he should say:

The word OK is represented by this combination
This is how OK became a βpop starβ not only in America but all over the world. And now, it doesnβt matter where you are and the language you speak, you will always understand when somebody says, βOK Googleβ.

ENGLISH IDIOMS
1. BTW: βBy the wayβ

BTW: βBy the wayβ
Meaning:
BTW, is the abbreviation of βBy the wayβ. Itβs a phrase used to introduce a new topic of conversation that is not directly related to the current discussion. It's often employed to add information, share an aside, or bring up a separate point without making it the main focus of the conversation.
Example:
"I finished reading the book you lent me last week, and I loved it. Oh, btw, are you going to Lisa's party this weekend? I heard it's going to be great.β.
βΆ Check it out
2. ASAP: βAs soon as possibleβ

ASAP: βAs soon as possibleβ
Meaning:
ASAP stands for "As Soon As Possible". It's used to indicate that something should be done quickly, without undue delay.
Example:
"Please send me the report ASAP so I can review it before the meeting.".
βΆ Check it out
3. LOL: βLaugh out loud"

LOL: βLaugh out loud"
Meaning:
LOL stands for "Laugh Out Loud". Itβs a modern expression from the internet age, used to express amusement or laughter in response to something funny.
Example:
"He told me he tried to bake a cake but ended up burning it. LOL, I can't believe he thought he could cook!β.
βΆ Check it out

FLASHCARD COLLECTION
What does the phrasal verb βGet Overβ mean?

Front side
FLASHCARD COLLECTION
Answer

Back side
1οΈβ£ To recover from an illness or emotional setback.
2οΈβ£ To physically overcome an obstacle.
3οΈβ£ To increase the volume of something.

I took many hours to prepare this lesson for you. I will be grateful if you share it with your friendsπ€©
Or copy and paste this link to your friends: https://englishinbox.beehiiv.com
God bless you ππΌππΌππΌ
1Β Β "Orful" is a dialectical variation of the word "Awful.β.

