Emily from New Orleans, Louisiana, wonders about the expression Holy cow! to indicate surprise or delight. It’s one of many minced oaths, in this case a replacement for the stronger exclamation, Holy Christ! These euphemistic expressions, such...
Mateo in Richmond, Virginia, is curious about a story he heard about the term paper tiger, meaning “something that looks fearsome or ferocious, but is actually flimsy or weak.” It’s not from Tiger, a type of German tank used during...
An article in a 1906 edition of the Minneapolis Journal carried the inviting headline: Noisy Hungry Frogs Sadden Farmer’s Life: They Scare His Cattle and They Also Eat His Flannel Shirt. This is part of a complete episode.
Don’t let your alligator mouth overload your hummingbird butt! is a more picturesque way of saying “Don’t boast!” This is part of a complete episode.
A kangaroo word is a word that contains letters that appear in the same order and form a synonym. Examples include the verb regulate, which contains rule; masculine, which contains male; blossom which contains bloom; and precipitation, which has...
In English, to beat around the bush, means “to talk while avoiding another topic” or “to talk without ever getting to the point.” A similar German phrase translates “to go like a cat around the hot porridge.” This...