The phrases “Who let the hawk out?” and “The hawk is flying tonight” both mean “there’s a chilly wind blowing.” This saying is almost exclusive to the African-American community and is associated with that...
Oh no you di-int! The linguistic term for what happens when someone pronounces didn’t as “di-int,” or Martin as Mar-in without the t sound, is called glottalization. Instead of making a t sound with the tongue behind the teeth, a...
What does out of pocket mean? The answer splits down racial lines. Among many African-Americans, if someone’s out of pocket, they’re out of line or unruly. For most non-African-American speakers, out of pocket is primarily used in...
In this week's episode, we go from hip-hop to a public television show about the intra- and inter-class conflicts in a British manor house. We also talk about "flupgrades," what you might call it when a software update...
Who is Boo-Boo the Fool? A listener wonders if this African-American character has any relation the Puerto Rican fool, Juan Bobo. Martha draws a connection to the Spanish term bobo, meaning “fool,” and its Latin root balbus, meaning...
There is always a person greater or lesser than yourself. Grant shares this and other African-American proverbs. This is part of a complete episode.