Carlos in Augusta, Kentucky, says that in Cuba, when it was raining while the sun was still shining, he used to hear people say la hija del diablo se está casando, or literally, “the devil’s daughter is getting married.” A friend from Alabama told him that the expression she always heard was The devil’s daughter is getting beaten. These and many other sayings around the world denoting sunshowers all refer to some kind of supernatural activity, whether it’s The devil is beating his wife, heard primarily in the Southern United States, or in parts of Mexico, Las conejas están pariendo or “The rabbits are giving birth.” In Puerto Rico, it’s Están casando una bruja, literally “They are marrying a witch.” In Korea, it’s tigers getting married; in Bulgaria, it’s the nuptials of bears; and in some Arabic-speaking countries, the animals getting hitched are rats. In South Africa, a sunshower is referred to as a monkey’s wedding. This is part of a complete episode.
When you’re talking about the location of an inanimate object, is it okay to say that it lives there, as in The peanut butter lives in that cabinet or The flashlight lives on that shelf? Strictly speaking, of course, that object isn’t...
Sean in Oneonta, New York, says that when he was growing up in New Jersey, his family would pile in the car and set off on a surprise adventure, whether a short distance or long, and the kids would be told only that they were going on Buxtehude...
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