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English is full of unusual terms, both old (eleemosynary, favonian) and new (flyaway, catio). Also, the Swahili term that means "sleep like a log," the multiple meanings of the word joint, cowpies and horse biscuits, what it means to play gooseberry, and how to punctuate "Guess what?" (or "Guess what!").
This episode first aired November 1, 2010.
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Flyaway and Catio
Thinking about a flyaway, or will you spend the weekend gazing out at the catio? Grant explains these terms.
Subscribing to an Idea
Is subscribing just for magazines and podcasts, or can you subscribe to an idea? A husband and wife disagree over whether the latter is grammatically correct.
Sleep Like a Log
The Swahili phrase nililala fofofo means "to sleep really well." Literally, though, it translates as "to sleep like a log." Are the English and Swahili idioms related?
Chaperoning
In French, tenir la chandelle means "to act as a chaperone," though literally it's "to hold the candle." Another expression that means "to chaperone" is the antiquated English phrase "to play gooseberry."
License-Plate Bingo
License-plate bingo, anyone? Quiz Guy John Chaneski offers a radio version.
The Cat's Mother
"Who is 'she'? The cat's mother?" A Davis, California, man remembers his mother's indignant use of this expression, and he's curious about the origin.
Pronouncing Coyote
Should you pronounce the word coyote with two syllables or three?
Sharing a Joint in Great Britain
A Northern California caller discovers that in Britain, an invitation to share a joint doesn't mean what it does back home.
Unusual Words from Eleemosynary
Eleemosynary is the title of a play by Lee Blessing. The play celebrates this and other unusual words, including sortilege, charivari, ungulate, favonian, and logodaedaly. Martha saw a production at San Diego's Moxie Theater, and takes the opportunity to discuss those words, plus the fizzy roots of moxie.
Punctuating "Guess What"
Guess what! Or would that be Guess what? A Honolulu listener asks about the right way to punctuate this interjection. Should you use an exclamation mark or a question mark? How about an interrobang or a pronequark?
Larrupin'
A Texas listener says his family often describes a great meal as larrupin'. What does that mean, exactly?
FOIA
Grant talks about FOIA ("pronounced FOY-uh"), a bit of journalists' jargon.
Cowpies and Other Slang
Cowpies, horse biscuits, buffalo chips, horse dumplings — why do so many names for animal droppings have to do with food? A caller wonders this, and whether the term cowpie would be an anachronism in a Civil War novel.
This episode is hosted by Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett, and produced by Stefanie Levine.
Photo by Marc Dalmulder. Used under a Creative Commons license.
Music Used in the Broadcast
| Title | Artist | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crazy Queen | Orgone | Cali Fever | Ubiquity Records |
| Lookout | Orgone | Cali Fever | Ubiquity Records |
| Live Right Now | Eddie Harris | Plug Me In | Atlantic |
| Unbroken, Unshaven | Budos Band | The Budos Band III | Daptone Records |
| Mark Of The Unnamed | Budos Band | The Budos Band III | Daptone Records |
| Ballad (For My Love) | Eddie Harris | Plug Me In | Atlantic |
| Mista President | The Soul Jazz Orchestra | Freedom No Go Die | Funk Manchu Records |
| Let's Call The Whole Thing Off | Fred Astaire | Fred Astaire's Finest Hour | Verve |
Playing gooseberry is a pretty common expression in England, used when tagging long with a friend and his/her boyfriend or girlfriend. I've never thought about the origins. Maybe you feel a bit green (with envy) and sour at being surplus to requirements.
Changing the subject, I loved the word shellacking used by President Obama in last nights' speech. Never heard it before. Is it common in the US?
My daughter, (an English major) and I discussed this issue. We agreed that if someone demanded "guess" that it would be followed by a period or perhaps exclamation point. If the statement was "what", then it would require a question mark. So, "guess what" would need a question mark because "what" was spoken last. Any validity to this reasoning?
butchieb said:
My daughter, (an English major) and I discussed this issue. We agreed that if someone demanded "guess" that it would be followed by a period or perhaps exclamation point. If the statement was "what", then it would require a question mark. So, "guess what" would need a question mark because "what" was spoken last. Any validity to this reasoning?
I know what. Let's find a counterexample - a sentence that ends in what but isn't a question. Something about that appeals to me, but I don't know what.
I think "guess what" has an implied object, like "guess what [just happened]." To me it looks more like a command than a query. "Guess what" doesn't feel the same to me as "What's your guess?"
I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that "guess what?" is being treated as a question because it takes the place of "you know what?" That really is a question in both form and intent, and because the two are treated as straight-across replacements for one another, they're seen as requiring the same punctuation.
I'm the "guess what" caller. I'm so glad some of you agree that punctuating this expression with a question mark just doesn't make sense -- I was starting to think I was the only one!
In response to the poster who challenged us to come up with similar phrases, I would offer "say when." In that expression, "when" is also spoken last, but you wouldn't punctuate it with a question mark. Maybe there are some other examples out there.
Anyway, I agree with Grant that "guess what" is universally punctuated with a question mark -- but I still don't understand why! (Or should that be: "I still don't understand why?")
I think the way to properly punctuate it would be:
Guess "What?"!
I don't think the phrase is at all part of a longer phrase or a rearranging of words to shorten your point. It's conveying exactly what it means to convey. You say, "Guess, "What?"!", and wait for the other person to say, "What?". If they don't, often they won't get told "What", at least that's how it works in my house. 🙂
Having said all that, punctuating it that way is way too cumbersome and would never catch on. Since the inflection rises at the end of thephrase I will stick with "Guess What?". Perhaps capitalizing the "What" makes it look better.
Horse apples. I grew up as a townie in a rural area. During family car rides in the country, we would encounter what my parents called "horse apples" on the road.
All these food variations are just ways to talk about sh*t without saying sh*t. The reliance on food terms comes from the fact that the production process and the product are in many ways reminiscent of cooking and food (think baking - although you may never enjoy another molasses cookie) much moreso than any other activity, say, carpentry, sculpting, high fashion design, FOX News. Wait…
Wikipedia has an explanation to answer one caller's question: But who's Kirby? And who's Bobby? See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_pin.
I know that a lot of people, including an unnamed radio host, assert that "Guess what" ends with a rising inflection. I would never say it with a rising inflection. In fact, my inflection falls pretty sharply. I'm not saying that the punctuation should be based on the inflection, but I can't imagine hearing it with a rising infection, unless perhaps someone was puzzled and repeating the phrase in question form.
Guess what!
"Guess what?" What does that mean?
By the way, "What does that mean?" also ends with a falling inflection, since the high point is on the word that. Still, it is a question. So I'm not forcing the punctuation by the inflection. I'm just very puzzled about the assertions.
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