To fossick meaning “to rummage about,” derives from the use of fossicking for the practice of literally digging about for gemstones in abandoned mining excavations, a hobby that’s particularly popular in Australia and New Zealand. There, such digging about is also known as bandicooting, a reference to a foraging marsupial, the bandicoot. The etymology of fossick is murky, although it appears to have originated in the United Kingdom, and may be related to a dialectal term fussock, meaning “to bustle about” or “to fidget.” This is part of a complete episode.
It’s hard to remember how to spell the names of some cities. Tallahassee, Florida, for example. Then there are towns with very few letters to remember. Y, a tiny town in northern France, has only two main streets, which come together to form...
On a busy day in the emergency room, Alisa of Dallas, Texas, told an efficient colleague that she was really humming, meaning it as a compliment. Her colleague took offense, maintaining that humming meant “smelly.” Since the 18th...
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