Who was that masked man? Was it the Barefoot Bandit, the Mummy Bandit, or perhaps the Botox Bandit? Or maybe it was the Bad-Breath Bandit? The hosts discuss the wacky names that law enforcement officers give to suspects. Also, what's a pickle button? Why do we say "be there or be square"? And what does the word seditty mean in the African-American community?
This episode first aired May 8, 2010.
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Descriptive Criminal Names
A news story about the Ho-Hum Bandit has Grant musing about the odd names that law enforcement officers give to criminals at large, usually based on their appearance or behavior, like the Barefoot Bandit, the Mummy Bandit. Or how about the Bad Breath Bandit?
Be There or Be Square
Where do we get the phrase "be there or be square"?
Slang Term "Seditty"
What's seditty? Many African-Americans use this term, also spelled saddidy, to mean "stuck-up." A caller's heard it all his life, and is curious about the word.
"I Never Was" Riddle
Grant has a riddle: "I never was, am always to be, no one ever saw me or ever will, and yet I am the confidence of all to live and breathe on this terrestrial ball. What am I?"
Odd Man Out Puzzle
Quiz Guy Greg Pliska offers a colorful variation on his ever-popular "Odd Man Out" puzzle. In this series, for example, which one doesn't belong: Imperial, Shasta, Kings, and Orange.
Sunglade
A caller from the coastal town of La Jolla, California, is sure he's heard a word for bright pools of silver light that form on the surface of the ocean when sunbeams poke down through cloud cover. Albedo, maybe? Coruscation? How about sunglade?
Abyssinia! Ethiopia!
Why in the world would two people part from each other saying, "Abyssinia!" "Ethiopia!"? The hosts clear up the mystery.
Listener Longest Word Riddle
Martha shares a puzzle sent in by a listener: "What's the longest word typed on the left hand's half of the keyboard?" Hint: It's the plural of a now-outmoded occupational term.
Lagniappe
A lagniappe is a little something extra that a merchant might toss in for a customer, like a complimentary ball-point pen. What's the origin of that word?
Commercial Categories for Literature
Grant argues that new commercial categories of literature, which include poop fiction, chick lit, K-mart realism, and tart noir resemble the kind of fracturing that already occurred in the music world. Here's the blog entry that got him started.
Couple, Few, and Several
What exactly do you mean when you use the words couple, few, and several? Do they conjure specific numbers? The hosts disagree.
Pickle Off
A retired Air Force officer says he's never wondered until recently why the button that pilots push to drop bombs is called the pickle button, and to "pickle off" the bomb means to drop it.
Beginning and End Riddle
Grant reveals another riddle: It's the beginning of eternity, the end of time and space, the beginning of every end, and the end of every place. What is it?
Stupider vs. More Stupid
A Scrabble game sparks a debate between a college student and her English-teacher sister. Which is correct: stupider or more stupid?
This episode is hosted by Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett, and produced by Stefanie Levine.
Photo by Maik Meid. Used under a Creative Commons license.
Where do we get the phrase be there or be square?
Not sure about this exact phrase but I heard that "square" comes from the 18th century when the style of shoe went, rather suddenly, from the square-toed single last style to the pointed-toe style made with right and left feet. Those who refused to change (or could not afford to) were unfashionable "Squares".
Grant Barrett said:
Why in the world would two people part from each other saying, "Abyssinia!" "Ethiopia!"? The hosts clear up the mystery.
In my family, when we parted, we said "Well, as they say in Africa ... Abyssinia!"
This discussion reminded me of words my father, a psychology professor, used to use with me and my little brother. He would say, "I can do (whatever) before you can say tachistoscopic episkatister." Of course we never could say tachistoscopic episkatister no matter how much time you gave us, so he always won this challenge.
I was in college before I found out what a tachistoscope or an episkatister was, or how to spell either one. Do you know what a tachistoscopic episkatister is?
Grant Barrett said:
Martha shares a puzzle sent in by a listener: "What's the longest word typed on the left hand's half of the keyboard?" Hint: It's the plural of a now-outmoded occupational term.
I used to work with a woman named Barbara Stewart. She made a big show out of taking her right hand completely off the keyboard before typing her full name.
For the other hand, I once constructed a fanciful "right-hand shopping list" of items such as hippo milk, onion pulp, pumpkin hull oil. That, and the sentence on opium poppy, in my opinion, you'll unpin my pink nylon kimono.
Grant argues that new commercial categories of literature, which include poop fiction, chick lit, K-mart realism, and tart noir resemble the kind of fracturing that already occurred in the music world. Here's the blog entry that got him started.
They left out "housewife porn", aka "bodice-rippers".
What exactly do you mean when you use the words couple, few, and several? Do they conjure specific numbers? The hosts disagree.
When I was about nine years old, I asked someone exactly what the phrase "room temperature" meant and was told "72 degrees Fahrenheit". Ever since, I've been unable to associate the term with any other number.
Regarding the sunlight phenomena you spoke of I would like to add to the moonglade list the word "alpenglow"
When the sun is setting or rising and you get one of those very red ones the light can be reflected off of low clouds onto the mountain causing the snow to look orange.
Quite spectacular. Only have seen once on the west side of the Wasatach range heading south from Ogden after a ski trip to Jackson.