Are fairy tales too scary for children? A survey of parents in Britain found that more than half wouldn't read them to their children before age five. Martha and Grant discuss the grisly imagery in fairy tales, and whether they're too traumatizing for kids. Also, when did “dog food†become a verb? And does the word butterfly come from “flutter by�
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How did serialized melodramas come to be called soap operas? The answer has to do with the suds-selling sponsors of old-time radio shows.
When a theater company gives out free tickets to a performance, it's called papering the house. But what kind of “paper†are we talking about, anyway?
Our show's pun-loving Quiz Guy, Greg Pliska, whips up a word game called “Country Kitschin‘.†The challenge is to fill in the blank in a sentence with the name of a country so that the spoken sentence makes sense. Try this one: “We'll take our time today, because you'd hate to _____________ quiz as good as this one.â€
“Don't tump over the canoe!†The verb to tump is familiar to folks in many parts of the United States. Use it elsewhere, though, and you might get some quizzical looks. What does it mean and who uses it? The hosts tump over their reference works and answers spill out.
Why do some people add a final “th†sound to the word “height� Heighth? At one time, that pronunciation was perfectly proper.
If you work in the software industry, you may already know the term dogfooding, which means “to use one's own product.†Grant explains how dogfood became a verb.
In this week's installment of “Slang This!,†a member of the National Puzzlers League tries to separate the real slang terms from the impostors from a list that includes: backne, button cotton, snake check, and filter filter.
A caller suspects that the word butterfly derives from a reversal of the expression “flutter by.†But is it? Her question leads to a discussion of butterfly behavior and a handy five-letter word that means “caterpillar poop.â€
That groove between your nose and upper lip? It's your philtrum, from the Greek word for “love potion.†Martha explains.
Which is correct: “I'm reticent to do that†or “I'm reluctant to do that?â€
hi, i grew up in holland in the 40's and 50's every night when my brother and i were about 6 or 7 years old my mom would read stories from Hans Christian Anderson and occasionally Aesop's fables, we loved the stories, however i remember seeing trolls in the pattern of the curtains, at night when the cats outside were howling i thought they were killing babies lol, i'm now 62 years old and am still afraid of the dark, maybe because the gruesome things happened at night, so i only read happy stories to my kids, i think those gruesome tales should be banned before the age of 10 lol, love your show Trudie
Modern fairy tales (cartoons, pick a channel besides PBS and Noggin) on the television SHOW the violence, explosions, dismemberment which the children see with their eyes not their mind. Those that (also pretend) leave it to imagination must be read, have distinct justice and tit-for-tat consequences which to not imprint themselves on the mind the same way images do. The parental participation, questions and answers, "Because she was trying to trick the Prince." are key to the interaction. Studies are out there (it has been years since I've referenced them) that demonstrate that the "Disney-fied versions" of fairy tales leave less moral and ethical lessons behind than the originals - which is what they were, Teaching Tales.
Sara S V Bishop
What was the folk lore story of the “Angel's touch†that Martha mentioned when discussing the Philtrum?
Hi, Steve -- It's a story in Talmudic tradition. Here's a link to get you started.