Michael in Aurora, Kentucky, wonders about the word peert, meaning “in good health” or “chipper,” as in Yesterday I felt kindly puny, but today I feel right peert. Heard primarily in the American South, peert, also spelled peart, derives from English pert, “lively” or “jaunty.” Good news might pearten up someone’s mood, and in Appalachia, peartening juice means “homemade whiskey.” This is part of a complete episode.
The cardboard cylinder left after the last sheet of toilet, tissue, or wrapping paper comes off the roll has inspired families to make up a lot of names for the tube or the sounds you can make with it. These include oh-ah, oh-ah, drit-drit, dah-dah...
A native Texan says his Canadian wife teases him about his use of hitten for a past participle, as in You have hitten every green light instead of You have hit every green light. Charles Mackay’s 1888 work, A Dictionary of Lowland Scotch, does...
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