The National World War II Museum, one of the incredible organizations Adept is proud to work with, has just released Part 1 of their World War II: Legacy Electronic Field Trip—now available on-demand. At Adept, we’re honored to support the Museum’s mission by helping capture voices and transcribe vital Oral Histories—ensuring that the stories of bravery, sacrifice, and resilience are preserved for generations to come. Don’t miss this powerful journey through the past, and stay tuned for Part 2, premiering May 8.

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Part 1 of The National WWII Museum’s World War II: Legacy Electronic Field Trip is now available. Explore the final months of World War II and how major battles and key decisions brought about the surrenders of Germany and Japan. Learn about the devastating loss and destruction as well as the liberation and jubilation that came with the conclusion of the war. Student reporters and their teachers will journey to sites where history happened and explore the galleries of The National WWII Museum. Part 1 is available for you to access and view at your convenience—today, tomorrow, and into the future.

Part 2 will premiere May 8 at 9:00 a.m. CT and will examine the emerging tensions between communism and democracy, the United States and USSR, and explore the standoffs that would mark the beginning of the Cold War.

Each part has a runtime of about 30 minutes.
Designed for grades 7–12.

Ever wondered where the phrase “claw back” comes from? Our friends at Grammarphobia have traced its surprisingly long history in “Clawing back in the age of DOGE.” While the term has recently clawed its way into the spotlight thanks to a certain tech billionaire with a flair for memes and market chaos (no names, just rockets), its roots run much deeper. Check out their deep dive into the evolution of this financial phrasal—and maybe pick up a few linguistic gems along the way.

Q: Where did the expression “claw back” (referring to money) come from? It seems to be a fairly recent usage.

A: The phrasal verb “claw back” is heard a lot now, especially as Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency tries to get back money given out, but the usage isn’t quite as new as you think.

The term “claw back” has been used since the 1950s in the sense of to take back money, and the verb “claw” has been used by itself in a similar way since the mid-19th century.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines this meaning as “to regain gradually or with great effort; to take back (an allowance by additional taxation, etc.).”

The earliest citation in the OED for “claw back” used in the financial sense is from the Feb. 21, 1953, issue of the Economist. Here’s an expanded version:

“The Government would also make sure that, as in the case of Building Society dividends and interest payments, such tax relief was clawed back from surtax payers.”

The noun “clawback” (the retrieval of money already paid out) soon appeared. The first Oxford citation, which we’ve expanded, is from The Daily Telegraph (London), April 16, 1969:

“It is, however, necessary to adjust the claw-back for 1969–70 so as to reflect the fact that the 3s. extra on family allowances, which was paid for only half a year in 1968–69, will be paid for a full year in 1969–70.”

The first OED citation for “claw” used in reference to money is from Denis Duval, the unfinished last novel of William Makepeace Thackeray, published a few months after he died at the end of 1863.

Here’s an expanded version of the passage cited: “His hands were forever stretched out to claw other folks’ money towards himself” (originally published in The Cornhill Magazine, March-June, 1864).

When the verb “claw” first showed up in Old English in the late 10th century, it meant “to scratch or tear with claws,” according to the OED.

The dictionary’s earliest citation is from Aelfric’s Grammar, an introduction to Latin, written around 995 by the Benedictine abbot Ælfric of Eynsham: “Scalpo, ic clawe” (scalpo is Latin and ic clawe is Old English for “I scratch”).

In the mid-16th century, the OED says, the verb took on the sense of “to seize, grip, clutch, or pull with claws.”

The earliest citation is from “The Aged Louer Renounceth Loue,” an anonymous poem in Tottel’s Miscellany (1557), which is described in the Cambridge History of English Literature as the first printed anthology of English poetry:

“For age with stelyng [steely or implacable] steppes, Hath clawed [clutched] me with his cowche [crook].” The anthology, collected by the English publisher Richard Tottel, is also known as Songes and Sonettes Written by the Ryght Honorable Lord Henry Howard, late Earle of Surrey, Thomas Wyatt the Elder and Others.

The OED says the seize, grip, clutch, or pull sense of “claw” later came to be used figuratively—both by itself and in the phrase “claw back”—to mean regain funds slowly or with much effort, the sense you’re asking about.

We’ll end with a recent example of the phrase used figuratively in reference to Musk’s campaign to take back funds:

“From the start of the second Trump administration, Mr. Musk’s team has pushed agencies to claw back government funds for everything from teacher-training grants to H.I.V. prevention overseas” (The New York Times, April 5, 2025).

Anat Shenker-Osorio starts this post by stating “The words we use matter. So let’s say what’s actually happening.” We couldn’t agree more. Choosing the right words means honoring what’s actually happening, not just what’s easy or familiar to say.

“A scrupulous writer, in every sentence that he writes, will ask himself at least four questions, thus: 1. What am I trying to say? 2. What words will express it? 3. What image or idiom will make it clearer? 4. Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?”

—George Orwell, Politics and the English Language

As the MAGA regime’s ongoing assault on our lives and our loved ones ramps up, many of us feel tongue-tied – at a loss for the words to express what is happening, let alone marshal resistance to it. But, as Orwell said, “if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought,” and so we must speak plainly, hewing not to where we think people “are” but ensuring they understand what is true. Our freedoms are on the line: Our freedoms to come home safely to our loved ones and to say what we believe, to join together in union and to decide what we do with our bodies. We must choose words that make clear to our audiences exactly what is at stake, exposing the motivations of the MAGA regime and generating the will to be in continuous opposition to it.

Anat Shenker-Osorio, host of the podcast and Substack Words to Win By, is a messaging researcher and campaign advisor.