Formerly a Brand Name
Unless it comes from the Champagne region of France, it’s just sparkling wine; unless it’s trained by this New Jersey company, it’s just a guide dog
Seeing Eye™
It is the word in the English language with the most definitions at 430. As an adjective: "fixed in position;" as a verb: "to put (something) down, to rest;" as a noun: "a series or group of something."
Set
The Ugandan academic and commentator who is currently a professor in the Department of Anthropology at Columbia University in New York, and is known for his influential post-9/11 book Good Muslim, Bad Muslim, has the first name of Mahmood, and this last name (made considerably more prominent in the past year)
Mamdani
This musician, who rose to prominence as the drummer for the band Phish, is actually the namesake of the band
Jonathan Fishman
A tech company founded in 1998, its first documented usage as a verb was in an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 2002
Google™
The plural of this word, meaning a work (of art, usually), is "opera." In singular, it is usually preceded by "magnum" to mean "greatest work"
Opus
In 2024, this Southeast Asian country officially began moving some government functions to its future new capital Nusantara, starting the transition away from the city which has served as capital since its independence in 1945
Indonesia
The son of two prominent free-market economists, his The Machinery of Freedom has been described as a "free-market anarchist" textbook
David Friedman
The original name for this brand trademark turned generic term was “Drunk-O-Meter”
Breathalyzer™
This word originates in Old English as "eke name," literally meaning "also name"
Nickname
In May 2025, pro-EU candidate Nicușor Dan defeated nationalist George Simion to become president of what country, after the Constitutional Court annulled the first-round vote in December 2024 over suspected Russian interference
Romania
Later a coach, she was the first basketball player at USC to have a jersey number retired
Cheryl Miller
Sorry Etsy witches, this spooky channelling board is a trademark owned by Hasbro
Ouija Board™
The Latin "Pontus" for bridge is the root of "pontiff," another term for the Pope, and this verb, which means to express one's opinions as pompously as if they were the Pope
Pontificate
Since early 2022, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has served as the chairman of this center-right political party, which was led by Angela Merkel for 18 years beginning in 2000
Christian Democratic Union (CDU)
This Canadian actress portrays Twyla on Schitt’s Creek, a show created by and starring her father Eugene and brother Dan
Sarah Levy
Originally a brand name for the cough medication diacetylmorphine, it became a generic name when Bayer lost the patent rights in the 1919 Treaty of Versailles
Heroin™
Combining a negative prefix with the Latin/Greek word for star, it is used to refer to an unexpected or ill-fated catastrophe, literally "against the stars"
Disaster
This country's political party, whose name translates to "Soldiers of Destiny," was founded in 1926, took power in 1932, and dominated politics for decades before a historic defeat in the 2011 general election (since partly reversed)
Ireland
Formerly a marine and special forces soldier, he now hosts Meet the Drug Lords: Inside the Real Narcos
Jason Fox