Does language acquisition correspond with being ambidextrous? A woman notices her polyglot husband takes notes with his right hand for certain languages, then switches to his left for other ones. And: What’s the difference between an orchard and a grove? Is it correct to speak of an apple grove or an orange orchard? Also, some fun slang from Newfoundland: Sit too long on a hard seat, and your badonkadonk will wind up dunch. Plus: duckish, woo-woo, a puzzle about werewolves, waxing eloquent about whiskey, muldoon, names coined by famous authors, huerta and horticulture, zerbert, a hundred feet of chow line, and more.
This episode first aired October 25, 2025.
Bed Lunch on a Duckish Brudge
In Newfoundland the word bridge, also spelled brudge, can mean “a deck” or “a porch,” while the word porch refers to an additional room, usually attached at the back of a house, and used as a storage space or mud room. If a Newfoundlander says it’s duckish out, they’re indicating the skies are dark. The three daily meals are breakfast, midday dinner, and evening supper, while any snack outside these is referred to as a lunch, and a bed lunch is a snack eaten just before bed.
Dump Truck Badonkadonk
Jennifer teaches yoga on the beach on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and she and her students have been collecting synonyms for derrière, such as dump truck, rear end, and badonkadonk. The last of these has been around for at least 25 years, and was popularized by a 2001 song featuring Keith Murray with LL Cool J and Ludacris. The following year Missy Elliott released Work It, with lyrics that also included a version of this word. It wasn’t long before badonkadonk crossed over into country music, in songs such as ”Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” by Trace Adkins.
Woo-Woo Not-Science
Liam from San Francisco, California, is wondering about woo-woo. How did this term come to be an adjective describing beliefs or practices considered unscientific or irrational? Woo-woo likely imitates otherworldly sounds or ghostly moans.
Whats-Their-Bucket
If you’re looking for a placeholder when you can’t remember someone’s name, there’s always whats-her-bucket. Or try using the Newfoundland catch-all term buddy, as in buddy wasisname.
No Wergeld for the Winner of This Were-Quiz
Someone bitten by a werewolf becomes a werewolf, but what does a werewolf bitten by a nurse practitioner become? In Quiz Guy John Chaneski’s punny puzzle, the first syllable of each answer to a question like this rhymes with the were- in werewolf.
Multilingual and Ambidextrous. Or Ambilingual and Multidextrous?
A woman whose husband speaks Guaraní, Spanish, German, English, Italian, plus a bit of liturgical Hebrew, notices a curious thing happening while he was taking notes during lessons with a rabbi. As he jotted notes in Spanish and Guaraní, he used his left hand, but whenever he took notes in English or Hebrew, he switched to his right.
Wild Whiskey Writing
Oenophiles are known for their evocative writing about wine, but that’s also true for sophisticated bourbon lovers. Some sensuous tasting notes from bourbon expert Susan Reigler from American Whiskey magazine serve as a case in point.
Apple Grove and Orange Orchard?
What’s the difference between a grove and an orchard? Every orchard is a grove, but not every grove is an orchard. Can you speak of an apple grove or an orange orchard? Yes, although it’s far more common to say apple orchard and orange grove. The word orchard, by the way, may derive from Latin hortus, meaning “garden,” the source of horticulture and the Spanish word for “garden,” huerta.
Vanessa, Cedric, and Pamela, Author-Coined Names
What’s the common bond that links the names Vanessa, Cedric, and Pamela? They’re all names coined by famous authors. Vanessa was invented by Jonathan Swift as a pet name for his lover Esther Van Homrigh.The 16th-century poetSir Phillip Sidney coined the name Pamela for his pastoral romance, The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia,” possibly from a combination of Greek words meaning “all honey.” And Sir Walter Scott, in his novel Ivanhoe, introduced the character of Cedric the Saxon—either a misunderstanding or an alteration of the much older Anglo-Saxon name Cerdic.
Baltimore’s Muldoons
Jeff in Mattapoisett, Massachusetts, asks about muldoon, a word particular to Baltimore politics, with a wide variety of meanings. Muldoon may well have Irish roots, as it is an Irish name. Baltimore columnist Frank Kent popularized it as a term for someone with a large extended family or organization and the ability to deliver a substantial number of votes, and thus be a reliable, productive member of the local political machine.
Dunch Derrière
A woman from Newfoundland notes that in her part of the world, dunch denotes numbness caused by a limited blood circulation, as in how one’s rear end feels after sitting too long. Dumplings made with only flour and water or bread that is heavy or soggy can also be described as dunch.
Tavern Loose Meat Sandwich
A listener reports that in and around his hometown of Le Mars, Iowa, the kind of loose-meat sandwich that others might call a sloppy joe is known as a tavern or a tavern sandwich, a name that likely goes back to a restaurant in nearby Sioux City called Ye Olde Tavern. Other names for such sandwiches include Maid-Rite, Big T, Charlie Boy, and Tastee.
Zorbits on Your Skin
Allison in Redwood City, California, says her family has long used the word zorbit to refer to what happens when someone playfully blows a raspberry on your cheek or belly to make a funny sound. That’s probably their version of a fanciful word first popularized on a 1985 episode of the The Cosby Show as ZRBTT and later as zerbert.
A Hundred Feet of Chow Line
One means of hazing newbies in the Army: send them to get a hundred feet of chow line.
This episode is hosted by Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett, and produced by Stefanie Levine.
Books Mentioned in the Episode
| The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia< by Sir Phillip Sidney (Internet Archive) |
| Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott (Gutenberg) |
Music Used in the Episode
Musical Works
| Title | Artist | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kilofese | Adebowale and The Pioneers | Kilofese 45 | All-Town Sound |
| Super Strut | Deodato | Deodato 2 | CTI |
| Population Dub | Tapper Zukie | Escape From Hell | Stars |
| Sideman | Lonnie Smith | Finger Lickin’ Good | Columbia |
| Speak Low | Cal Tjader | La Onda Va Bien | Concorde Jazz Picante |
| Jolene | Parlor Greens | Jolene Single | Colemine Records |
| The Other Side | Sure Fire Soul Ensemble | Step Down | Colemine Records |
