Amanda in Tucson, Arizona, dislikes the phrase kill two birds with one stone and wants to popularize a non-violent alternative: feed two birds with one seed. An Alaska listener once suggested the phrase save two birds with one stone, perhaps implying the idea of scaring off birds without harming them. In the 18th century, two similar expressions were to stop two mouths with one morsel and to make two friends with one gift. The organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has suggested using feed two birds with one scone, as well as replacing bring home the bacon with bring home the bagel and beat a dead horse and feed a fed horse. This is part of a complete episode.
According to Gobsmacked: The British Invasion of American English (Bookshop|Amazon) by Ben Yagoda, the word smarmy, meaning “unctuous” or “ingratiating,” may come from a 19th-century magazine contest, in which readers sent in...
Mary Beth in Greenville, South Carolina, wonders: Why do we say four-oh-nine for the number 409 instead of four-zero-nine or four-aught-nine? What are the rules for saying either zero or oh or aught or ought to indicate that arithmetical symbol...
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