The heavy Army-issue utility bag called a duffel bag takes its name from the town of Duffel in the Belgian province of Antwerp, which produced a thick, coarse, woolen cloth from which such bags were originally made. The word duffel, also spelled duffle, also came to mean not only the bag itself but its contents. This is part of a complete episode.
If you’re going to hit the road in a motor home, best to bone up on some of the slang used by RV enthusiasts, like stinky slinky, PUPs, and gassers. A stinky slinky is a sewer hose, a PUP is a pop-up camper, and a gasser is a motor home powered by...
A listener in Lorain, Ohio, wonders about the origin of the terms happy and happiness. Both come from an older word hap, meaning “chance” or “luck,” also the source of happen, mishap, hapless, happenstance, happy-go-lucky, and perhaps. Language...
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