Our conversation about the phrase I beg your pardon reminded Patricia in Greenville, North Carolina, of a playground taunt from her childhood. If one kid said I beg your pardon, another would respond I grant your grace, I hope the cat will spit in your face. Another version of this ditty ends with I hope the cat will scratch your face.This is part of a complete episode.
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...
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