Veronica, who grew up in Liverpool, England, has noticed that kerfuffle is a favorite term among American journalists talking about political situations, though it’s much more common across the pond. This word for a disturbance or a bother comes from Scotland, but it’s been picked up in the United States, where it’s often pronounced as kerfluffle. This is part of a complete episode.
More from this show
What makes a great first line of a book? How do the best authors put together an initial sentence that draws you in and makes you want to read more? We’re talking about the openings of such novels as George Orwell’s 1984...
To slip someone a mickey means to doctor a drink and give it to an unwitting recipient. The phrase goes back to Mickey Finn of the Lone Star Saloon in Chicago, who in the late 19th century was notorious for drugging certain customers and relieving...