Eileen from Chesapeake, Virginia, recalls her mother’s response whenever someone in their family burped: Excuse the pigs, the hogs went out for a walk. It’s a mild reprimand (or apology, if the speaker is the one who burped), and there are many variations, including Excuse the pig, the hog’s out walking and Excuse the pig, the hog’s around the corner, as well as Excuse the pig, but the hog’s still around. Other versions include Pardon a pig — a hog would know better and another from the United Kingdom: Pardon, Mrs. Arden, there’s a pig in your garden. If you’re out in public, and your companion lets out a belch, you can say Excuse my pig — he’s a friend. One jocular way to acknowledge one’s own burp is to announce Greetings from the interior! or say I don’t remember eating that. 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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