Entertainment
Twist: I Like the Word “Moist”
When Kurt Andersen took over as editor of New York Magazine, he printed out a list of “annoying words” he didn’t want his writers to use. When I was 32, I wrote about this list on Cup of Jo, then added a word that I myself hated: moist.
Moist? Ew, gross. If you described banana bread as moist, it sounded vaginal. And I really didn’t like the word vagina. It was weird, sort of icky. I avoided saying it, even at the doctor’s office. *shudders*
I was far from alone. In 2012, The New Yorker asked their Twitter followers what word should be eliminated from the English language. “In the end, there was a runaway un-favorite,” they wrote. “Moist.” Five years later, food writer Emily Johnson lamented this cultural aversion in her Bon Appetit piece “Stop Getting Mad at Me for Using the Word ‘Moist,’” explaining that “you can only describe a chicken thigh as juicy so many times.”
@amazonmgmstudios Some like it wet. Some like it dry. Your call. See Rosamund Pike in Saltburn, in select theaters this Friday and everywhere Thanksgiving
And did you ever see this scene from Saltburn? “I was a lesbian for a while, you know,” the mother says. “But it was all a bit too wet for me in the end. Men are so lovely and dry.”
Well.
Now that I’m older, and thankfully the culture has grown and shifted (big nod to Broad City here, which loudly celebrated women’s bodies and desires), the words moist and wet and damp actually sound so warm to me, so compelling. They remind us of women? Of sex? Good! I can’t believe how much they’ve changed in my mind, without my doing anything other than passively absorbing the culture around me.
The word “vagina” also sounds completely different — close and endearing, like the beloved name of a long-time friend. My friend’s young son recently misremembered my name and called me “Vajenna” all night, and I was so honored and charmed. How interesting, right? Do you feel the same? Or differently? Or nothing at all?
Today, Toby and I toured a high school, and the admissions director led us down a stairwell peppered with ceramic tiles made by students. One tile showed the Statue of Liberty; another, a basketball. And then I saw one of a vulva. “Oh, look!” I said, pointing. “How cool is that?” I loved that the student had felt inspired to make it and the school had then displayed it.
It actually wasn’t the first vulva artwork my kids had seen — my sister, Lucy, has a sculpture by Sophia Wallace in her dining room, which means a terracotta clitoris appears in the background of many family photos. And I’m excited to see the Brooklyn Artists Exhibition, which features one of Wallace’s giant clit sculptures, inspired by the strength and grace of swans.
Also, necklaces!
What about you? How do you feel about the word “moist”? “Vagina”? “Vulva”? Have your feelings changed or stayed the same? No wrong answers, of course; please share your thoughts below. xoxoxo
P.S. Sex-positive parenting for prudes, and is this the sexiest podcast?
Entertainment
Get a free Samsung Galaxy S26 from T-Mobile without trading in your old phone
FREE SAMSUNG GALAXY S26: Sign up for a T-Mobile Experience Beyond plan for 24 months and get a free Samsung Galaxy S26 (256GB) which ordinarily costs $899.99. Existing T-Mobile Go5G Plus members also qualify for the deal.
It’s tough to find a free deal these days. We usually have a massive amount of fine text to read, but T-Mobile is making this deal pretty simple. Sign up for two years of coverage (which you probably needed anyway) and get a free Samsung Galaxy S26 (256GB). Here’s how to qualify.
To get a free Samsung Galaxy S26 (256GB) instead of paying the list price of $899.99, sign on for 24 months of a T-Mobile Experience or Better Value plan. You’ll save the $900 over the next 24 months of bill credit at T-Mobile. No trade in is required to cash in on this deal.
Announced in February, the Samsung Galaxy S26 is the latest model from the major iPhone competitor. It comes with added features like better AI capabilities and a 50 megapixel camera. Samsung also mentions improvements in display clarity with the new S26, giving off better colors and sharper details.
If you’re one for selfies, the Samsung Galaxy S26 could be a great option. Samsung designed the front-facing camera to have a wider view, making it easier to capture selfies with the group.
Mashable Deals
If you’re going with T-Mobile coverage, it’s well worth hopping on this free Samsung Galaxy S26 deal. The cell phone bill was inevitable so you might as well snag a free upgraded phone in the process.
Entertainment
Buy a $300 Delta gift card and get a free $20 Starbucks gift card
BUY A DELTA GIFT CARD FOR $300+ AND GET A FREE STARBUCKS GIFT CARD: Through May 11, buy a Delta gift card for $300 or more and get a free $20 Starbucks eGift card.
Credit: Delta / Starbucks
The price of flying these days is shocking. If you plan on traveling soon on a route served by Delta, it’s well worth checking out this deal to get something for free. It’ll help ease the pain of the ticket price.
Through May 11, purchase a Delta gift card worth $300 or more and get a free $20 Starbucks eGift card. It’s as simple as that. You can also qualify for the deal by buying multiple gift cards that total at least $300. The deal with apply automatically and you’ll receive a separate email containing the free Starbucks card.
Booking flights these days is not much fun. Prices are ahh…. abnormal, but Delta has eased the pain a bit thanks to this deal. The carrier is positioning this free Starbucks gift card deal as a good option for Mother’s Day, but realistically, it’s useful for anyone who plans to book with Delta soon.
Keep in mind the Delta gift card and Starbucks card will never expire. Delta mentions this offer is valid until May 11 at 11:59 p.m. ET or for the first 11,000 purchasers, whichever comes first. That means it might be smart to hop on this deal soon since there’s no way to know if it’ll last until May 11.
Mashable Deals
If you plan on flying soon or want to gift a special someone a Delta gift card worth $300 or more, snag this deal to get a free $20 Starbucks eGift card. It’s a win-win situation for those who plan to fly with Delta.
Entertainment
Snag a pair of Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones for $50 off
SAVE $50: As of May 6, get the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) for $399 at Amazon, down from their usual price of $449. That’s a discount of 11%.
$399
at Amazon
$449
Save $50
If you want to experience your favorite music to the fullest, you need headphones that are up to the task. Bose can typically be counted on to provide that kind of quality, especially with its QuietComfort lineup. You can try its newest model for less right now for less thanks to this Amazon deal, which heavily discounts the cans so you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg on them.
As of May 6, get the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) for $399 at Amazon, down from their usual price of $449. That’s $50 off and a discount of 11%.
Though an incremental upgrade from the previous QuietComfort model, these have some new features you’ll want to try out. But mostly, these comfortable headphones are all about feeling great on your ears and sounding fantastic. They offer noise cancellation and spatialized audio so it sounds as though you’re right where the music is. The new Cinema Mode can help to spatialize and balance background and sound and sound effects when watching movies to help put you right into the film as well.
Beyond that they can be used to take calls with their built-in microphones. They’ll last a long time while you’re on the phone too, with 30 hours of play time when listening to songs, podcasts, or taking meetings.
Mashable Deals
Mashable Lead Shopping Reporter Bethany Allard took the headphones for a spin in her review and and called them a “well-rounded pair of headphones”, praising their blend of “comfort, noise cancellation, and sound”.
If you’re ready to pick up a new pair of headphones at a discount that’ll tick all the boxes for you, grab these before the discount disappears.
Get a free Samsung Galaxy S26 from T-Mobile without trading in your old phone
Buy a $300 Delta gift card and get a free $20 Starbucks gift card
