Perhaps you have a panic monkey in your life. That’s someone who starts flailing their hands anytime they’re nervous. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Panic Monkey” I’m surprised I haven’t come across this before, but I learned the...
Ham-and-egger job, for a botched or below-standard effort, grew out of boxing slang. A ham-and-egger was a palooka: a low-rung fighter who filled out a card, took whatever small payday or meal came with it, and wasn’t expected to shine. The phrase...
There’s a hot debate going on about the use of “no problem” instead of “you’re welcome,” in response to “thank you.” But there’s nothing wrong with this phrase. The expression can’t be broken down semantically to prove it’s disrespectful; it’s more...
Quiz Guy John Chaneski has a game of portmanteaus for the tech age, like a fanciful word for when you spend hours buying books online to the point where you’re unconscious. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Tech Age Portmanteaus...
Rump-fed is a posterior-minded insult for someone whose rump looks amply nourished — less than callipygian, in other words. It’s one of the many mix-and-match barbs in the Shakespeare Insult Generator, which can turn out combinations such as thou...
Swag is not an acronym for Stuff We All Get. In fact, most acronymic “etymologies” are complete hogwash. Swag, commonly used to mean “free stuff,” goes back to the 1700’s and refers to the ill-gotten swag, or booty, of a thief or pirate. This is...
