Andre from Campbellsville, Kentucky, says his mother won’t watch a movie if it’s ary a bit violent. What does the word ary mean? Spelled airy,ara, arey, or ery, this dialectal term a shortening of ever a, and means “any” or “a single,” so the sentence I didn’t say ary a word means “I didn’t say ever a word” or “I didn’t say a single word.” In the same way, nary means “never a.” This is part of a complete episode.
U.S. President Thomas Jefferson has been credited with the first use of belittled in print. The word appears in his 1785 Notes on the State of Virginia. This is part of a complete episode.
Arthur in New Bern, North Carolina, wonders why we say something that isn’t difficult is as easy as pie when making a pie is a whole lot of work. This phrase most likely refers to the ease of eating a pie, not making one. This is part of a...
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