Elena in Mt. Holly, North Carolina, wonders why beeline means “a direct route.” Well, once a bee has gathered sufficient nectar from flowers, she flies in a straight course back to the hive. In The Journal of Henry David Thoreau, 1837...
Residents of Martha’s Vineyard look forward each year to the arrival of pinkletinks, little frogs that herald the arrival of spring. Elsewhere, they’re called spring peepers, tinkletoes, and pink-winks. This is part of a complete episode.
In our earlier conversation about the term clam, which musicians use to refer to a “missed note” or “musical mistake,” Martha misspoke and said a similar term was used in rowing and sculling. Actually, as many listeners...
One participant in our online discussion about overshadowing quoted National Geographicphotographer Joel Sartore on the topic. “Sometimes,” Sartore has observed, “you just have to pet the whale.” In other words, don’t...
The Spanish equivalent of fur baby, an affectionate term for one’s pets, is perrijo or perrija, a combination of perro, “dog,” and hijo or hija, meaning “son” or “daughter.” This is part of a complete...
A Pennsylvania woman says that when her stepmother was frustrated by someone, such as when the driver ahead of her was dawdling at a traffic light, she’d express her irritation with Are you posing for animal crackers? This expression goes back...