It may not be as rich a source of slang as baseball, but golf has contributed several terms to English, including stymie, “to get in the way of,” mulligan, a “do-over,” and par for the course, meaning “normal.” Although the word handicap is often used in golf to denote “an advantage given to a lesser player to even out a competition,” the term predates golf. Originally it referred to a wagering game that literally involved putting a hand into a cap. The term handicap was later used in horse racing, before moving on to golf. This is part of a complete episode.
According to Gobsmacked: The British Invasion of American English (Bookshop|Amazon) by Ben Yagoda, the word smarmy, meaning “unctuous” or “ingratiating,” may come from a 19th-century magazine contest, in which readers sent in...
Mary Beth in Greenville, South Carolina, wonders: Why do we say four-oh-nine for the number 409 instead of four-zero-nine or four-aught-nine? What are the rules for saying either zero or oh or aught or ought to indicate that arithmetical symbol...
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