Emily from New Orleans, Louisiana, wonders about the expression Holy cow! to indicate surprise or delight. It’s one of many minced oaths, in this case a replacement for the stronger exclamation, Holy Christ! These euphemistic expressions, such as Holy Moses! or Holy smokes! allow the speaker some of the satisfaction of swearing without saying anything truly sacrilegious. As early as the 1860s, the exclamation Cow! was sometimes as a substitute for God! Grant mispronounces Harry Caray’s last name in this segment. It should rhyme with his first name. This is part of a complete episode.
What if, instead of being an inanimate object, a dictionary were alive? That’s the idea behind a lavishly illustrated new children’s book called The Dictionary Story (Bookshop|Amazon) by Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston. This is part of a...
If someone’s got melon, it means they’re smart. The expression most likely arose because of the resemblance between a melon and a human head. Several other foods are associated with having brains, including a cabbage, a gourd, and even a...
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