ArchiveNovember 2008

Etymology of Measure Fathom

“Full fathom five thy father lies…” When the Bard wrote these immortal words, he was talking about the word fathom as a measure of distance. But a Chicago caller can’t quite fathom the meaning of the verb “to fathom...

North-South Bi-Coastal

Martha reports on some listeners’ neologisms for the north-south equivalent of bicoastal. So far, their suggestions for people who make those long, longitudinal commutes have been limited to the left coast, including: No-Cals, Yo-Cals, Bi...

Platypus Puggles

A biology student at Stanford University has a question that’s surely on the minds of many listeners: Is there’s an official term for “baby platypus”? He’s heard the term puggle used to denote these cute little...

Slang This! with Greg Pliska

For this week’s episode of Slang This!, we turn the tables on our other Quiz Guy, Greg Pliska. Greg has to figure out the difference between dusting and simping, and between johnny pump and reverse toilet. Those last two sound like things you...

Notorious

If someone calls you a notorious singer, should you be flattered or insulted? An Indiana caller says he’s hearing the word notorious used in a positive way, and wonders whether this adjective be reserved for describing things in a negative...

Hit Me Up

If you’re of a certain age, you may be surprised when someone asks you “hit me up”—and even more so when it turns out he’s asking you to call him on his cell phone. Grant explains how “hit me up” began to take on...

Recent posts