Birds inhabit many English words and phrases. The flower called larkspur is named for the way its blossom resembles the spur on the toe of a lark. Columbine derives from Latin columba, “dove,” a reference to the way this flower resembles doves huddled together. The coccyx, or tailbone takes its name from the Greek word for “cuckoo bird” because it’s shaped like a cuckoo’s beak. We speak of pecking order, nest egg, taking someone under one’s wing, and sometimes refer to a person’s nose or mouth as their beak. A lovely Spanish proverb goes La fe es el pájaro que siente la luz cuando el alba aún está oscura or “Faith is the bird that feels the light while the dawn is still dark.” This is part of a complete episode.
After our conversation about towns with extremely short names, many listeners wrote to tell us about Why, Arizona. Others pointed out that there are towns called Ely in Iowa, Minnesota, and Nevada. Other super-short appellations include Rye, New...
Debbie from Crawfordsville, Florida, says that when she and her husband reach an impasse while working on something, they’ll say Let’s grok about it, which they use to mean “Let’s think about it.” Grok was coined by...
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