We were invited to Lee High School in Huntsville, Alabama, to talk with students about slang. During our previous visit in 2018, we learned the apparently hyperlocal slang term forf meaning “to flake out” or “someone who fails to follow through.” This time students reported that this word is still sometimes used. There’s also touch grass, meaning to “get a reality check” or “push away from the computer screen and experience the offline world.” Dog water denotes “something undesirable.” They’re also using giving in a novel way: Someone who resembles a Hobbit might be said to be giving Bilbo Baggins. 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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