More and more college students are getting pregnant — with burrito babies. Grant talks about new terms for "a full stomach" and other examples of campus slang. Also, is it safe to play on the macadam? And: overegging the pudding, what it means to be gobsmacked, the difference between who and whom, apostrophe placement, how to pronounce "coup de grâce," and the embarrassing results when a smartphone mistakenly autocorrects text messages.
This episode first aired February 20, 2011.
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Auto-mis-Corrections
Remember the classic children's story "Where the Wild Thongs Are"? (We didn't think so.) That's just one of the autocorrect horror stories that can happen with smartphone auto-mis-corrections. Martha and Grant discuss several more.
Gobsmacked
If someone is gobsmacked, they're totally surprised. The term may come from the same Gaelic root that gave us the Everlasting Gobstopper.
Boy's Room vs. Boys' Room
Should the sign on the boys' bathroom at a school read "Boy's Room" or "Boys' Room"? The hosts clarify where to put the apostrophe.
Victory Lap
A fifth-year senior? That term is so 2007. These days, college students just refer to that extra year of school as taking a victory lap. Grant shares this and other examples of campus slang collected by University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill professor Connie Eble.
Demonyms Quiz
Our Quiz Guy John Chaneski has a game of demonyms. What do you call someone from a certain place? If you're from Cambridge, for example, you're a Cantabrigian.
Overegging the Pudding
If someone has overegged the pudding, they've overstated the case. This may explain why a lawyer from Lawrence, Kansas, found the phrase in a judicial opinion.
Aaron and Erin
Are the names Aaron and Erin pronounced the same? A bicoastal listener insists they should sound different. A longer discussion about Erin vs. Aaron is on the Straight Dope message board.
Known Misspelling in Quote
The word sic, meaning "thus" in Latin, is placed in the text when an author knowingly quotes a misspelled word or otherwise incorrect statement.
Macadam
A native of Southern Pennsylvania has always used the term macadam in place of asphalt. Martha traces the word from an old gravel road to the modern day tarmac.
Japanese Idiom
A Japanese idiom, referring to someone who takes credit for another's work, translates as "doing sumo in someone else's underwear."
The Worm has Turned
If you say, "The worm has turned," it means you've lost patience. Grant and Martha explain that this expression goes back to the old proverb "Tread on a worm and it will turn."
Food Baby
More and more college students are getting pregnant with burrito babies. Grant explains that that this slang term simply means that someone's stomach is full from a hefty meal, which is also known as a food baby.
Coup de Grâce
What is the proper use and pronunciation of the French term coup de grâce? Grant and Martha explain how the term has been twisted, both in pronunciation and meaning.
Grammar Chant
How can you tell the difference between who and whom? A listener shares a chant learned in grade school to remember the proper usage.
Cumshaw
Grant shares a bit of military humor related to cumshaw, the art of procuring what you need in ingenious ways: "There is only one thief in the army. Everyone else is just trying to get their stuff back."
Hurts So Good
You know the feeling when something hurts so good? A massage therapist looks for a term that describes this mix of pleasure and anguish. Sensanguish? Hedonalgia, maybe?
Listener Tom Swifties
Grant shares Tom Swifties sent in by listeners: "Aw, shucks, I dropped the toothpaste," Tom said crestfallenly, and "I've located the experts," Tom said profoundly.
This episode is hosted by Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett, and produced by Stefanie Levine.
Photo by Jeffrey W. Used under a Creative Commons license.
Music Used in the Broadcast
| Title | Artist | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marvin's Groove | B. W. Souls | Marvin's Groove | Round Records |
| B.A. | Jive Turkeys | B.A. | Colemine Records |
| Nyx | Karl Hector and The Malcouns | Sahara Swing | Now-Again |
| Mercy, Mercy, Mercy | Dick Hyman | Mirrors | ABC Records |
| Cassette Era Jam | R&T | Future B-Sides | Timeless Takeover |
| Hold On I'm Coming | Reuben Wilson | Love Bug | Blue Note |
| Followed Path | Karl Hector and The Malcouns | Sahara Swing | Now-Again |
| Groovin' | Dick Hyman | Mirrors | ABC Records |
| Respect | Dick Hyman | Mirrors | ABC Records |
| House of Mirrors | Dick Hyman | Mirrors | ABC Records |
| Let's Call The Whole Thing Off | Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong | Best of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong | Polygram Records |
We're big on those Aaron/Erin vowel mergers over on Usenet. Even have sets of abbreviations to refer to them: CIC for cot is caught vs CINC for cot is not caught, PIP for pin is pen vs PINP for pin is not pen, and the biggie: MIMIM for Mary is marry is merry vs MINMINM for Mary is not marry is not merry vs MIMBMID for Mary is marry but merry is different. There's also horse is/is not hoarse but for some reason there are no abbreviations in common use for that one.
"Aaron" and "Erin" are related to that last one but not entirely synonymous with it. Also unrelated to CIC/CINC is that some people use different vowels in "Ronnie" (a form of my name that thankfully I seldom hear) and "Rani", which I noticed when a young woman from India with that name joined our office. As a native SoCalifornian, I'm theoretically not supposed to make any of these vowel distinctions, but it seems I've been influenced by all the radio announcers I grew up listening to and have an accent that doesn't actually indicate where I'm from.
On the subject of auto-correct, I was recently using the note pad function of my iPad to note an address in La Jolla. Living in San Diego, I am well aware that La Jolla is one of the most expensive real estate markets in the country, and it appears that the programmers at Apple Computers are also aware of this. My iPad auto-corrected "La Jolla" to "La Moola."
Re "boy's room". I would not use any apostrophe at all. For me, it's the "boys room", a room for boys. On Top Chef, they just added an apostrophe to "Judges Table", making it "Judges' Table". I'm sure people were complaining, but for me, there's nothing wrong with "Judges Table".
Am I wrong?
They seemed to be leading to it in the show, but Grant and Martha never really weighed in on whether BOYS with no apostrophe would be correct on its own, i.e., without ROOM following it. My feeling is that nobody would have a problem with it in that form.
Don't know if the signs are still there as the business has changed hands several times since I last visited, but one restaurant I used to go to had doors labeled GENTLEMEN and LADIE'S. I think that belongs under the heading of "worst of all possible worlds".