Dog Chewing Waspers

What does it mean to look like a dog chewing waspers? Or like a possum eating persimmons? And what does it mean when someone says, “He was grinning like a mule eating briars”? These idioms, which have been recorded in Kentucky and Virginia, refer to people chewing with their mouths open in a less-than-civilized fashion. In all of these examples, the one who’s masticating is showing lots of teeth — rather like a beagle trying to eat a sliding glass door. This is part of a complete episode.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

More from this show

Boodle on Beaver Island

A resident of Michigan’s scenic Beaver Island shares the term, boodling, which the locals use to denote the social activity of leisurely wandering the island, often with cold fermented beverages. There have been various proposed etymologies...