If you make a beeline for something, you’re taking the shortest route possible. You’re also mimicking bee-havior! After a bee has visited enough flowers to gather nectar, she flies straight back to the hive. And: Even a word like throttlebottom looks gorgeous if a calligrapher gets hold of it. Plus, the Oxford English Dictionary added the word babyccino. It’s a hot, frothy drink for kids — all milk and caffeine-free. Also, I don’t care to, a quiz about imaginary schools, how to pronounce species, how to guess someone’s dialect, joner and jonered, ejectamenta, snout-fair, and it’s dark under the table.
This episode first aired August 17, 2024.
How YOU Doin’?
There are traditional greetings, of course, like Good afternoon and How are you? But folks who know each other well often acknowledge each other with more creative, less formal greetings. They might ask How’re your feet and ears? or How are you froggin’? Or Whatcha got on? Your mind? Colleagues who pass each other in the hall every day might toss off a casual What’s workin’? Spanish speakers have been known to greet each other with Hola, hola, Coca-Cola and the rhyming phrase ¿Que te pasa, calabaza? or literally, “What’s up, pumpkin?”
When “I Don’t Care To” Means “I Don’t Mind”
In parts of Appalachia, the southern United States, and a few other places, the expression I don’t care to is understood to mean “I wouldn’t mind to.” In other words, I don’t care to may mean exactly the opposite of what speakers of other dialects may assume, which can cause amusing misunderstandings. The confusion is caused by the word care having more than one meaning. As a verb, to care has meant “to cause sorrow or grief,” but also “to have concern or regard for.” As a noun, care has meant “worry” but also “attention to.”
Fribbling and Bombling
You know when a cat’s tail goes straight up and appears to vibrate? Emily from Coventry, Rhode Island, says her family has their own word for that: fribbling. She says her family also made up the word bomple to denote the action of fruit bouncing and rolling on the floor. For example, if a paper bag breaks and apples fall out, they would say that the apples went bompling all over the place.
To Make a Beeline Is to Take a Direct Route
Elena in Mt. Holly, North Carolina, wonders why beeline means “a direct route.” Well, once a bee has gathered sufficient nectar from flowers, she flies in a straight course back to the hive. In The Journal of Henry David Thoreau, 1837-1861 (Bookshop|Amazon), the author describes spending time with people who enjoy beelining or bee-hunting, a pastime that involves following bees back to their hive, sort of like geocaching, but with honey.
Where Would You Go to College To… Word Game
Quiz Guy John Chaneski is pondering the degrees offered by various colleges and universities — or at least, the degrees those institutions should offer, considering their names. For example, at what Ivy League school might you expect a course in locksmithing? And what university might offer a degree in toasting something to a golden color?
Dialect Detecting
Loretta in Shreveport, Louisiana, wants to know what lexical and dialectal clues linguists look for when guessing where someone is from. She also wonders: Do people with long careers in the military or who grew up in a military family have a particular way of speaking?
I Hope My Spouse Doesn’t Sell My Stuff for What I Told Them I Paid for It
After our conversation about knitters’ slang, including the term stash, meaning “a supply of yarn not currently in use,” a Texas listener shares the message she saw on a sign at her local crafts shop: I hope my husband doesn’t sell my stash for what I TOLD him I paid for it!
It’s Dark Under the Table
Chuck in Rutland, Vermont, has heard a phrase several times over the years that left him puzzled. If someone announces it’s late and they’re going to bed, and someone else questions that idea, the retiring one observes, Well, it’s dark under the table. This expression is particular to New England and found in the work of several Maine writers, including Stephen King. The Vermont poet James Hayford wrote a poem called “Dark Under the Table.”
Bad Air, Malaria, and Advice from Nonna
Samantha from Charleston, South Carolina, says her mother and grandmother are of Italian heritage, and have always advised keeping one’s neck warm as a precaution against the mal aria. That sort of consigli della nonna, or “Grandmother’s advice” stems from folklore associating mal aria — literally, “bad air,” with disease and pestilence. The life-threatening, infectious disease called malaria also derives from Italian for “bad air.” Before the rise of germ theory, people assumed that one could get sick from the “bad air” in swamps.
My Dearest Snout-Fair
A snout-fair is a “good-looking person,” a throttlebottom is an “inept public official,” and ejectamenta is “material spewed from a volcano.” Each month, members of a Facebook group for calligraphy enthusiasts receive a list of around 30 such words and their definitions and proceed to practice writing them. The results can be spectacular, and members post their best work to the group, Copperplate Script for All.
Has a Horn and Doesn’t Toot It
Judy from Huntsville, Alabama, recalls her stepmother’s words of encouragement: He that hath a horn to toot and tooteth it not, the same shall not be tooted. This faux-formal bit of advice goes back at least to the 1850s. A variation goes: Toot your own horn, but deliver the goods.
Set the Babyccino on the Baby Grand, Babe
Among the words added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2024 is babyccino, “a children’s drink consisting of hot milk that has been frothed up with pressurized steam so as to resemble a cappuccino.” Originating in Australia, this term has been traced back as early as 1995.
How to Pronounce “Species”
How do you pronounce species? Is it “spee-SEES” or “spee-SHEES”? Both are considered standard, but the spee-SHEES pronunciation is far more common.
To Joner Like Jonah
To joner means to “bring bad luck to” or “jinx.” This term is a corruption of the name Jonah, the biblical figure who initially resisted a divine command. His presence on board a ship supposedly caused a great storm at sea, but when he was thrown overboard and swallowed by a whale or large fish, the storm abated.
This episode is hosted by Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett, and produced by Stefanie Levine.
Book Mentioned in the Episode
Music Used in the Episode
| Title | Artist | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tempo In Tempo | Pierre Cavalli | Uma Vitamina Faz Favor | Sonorama |
| Crystal | Piero Umiliani | La Morte Bussa Due Volte | Cinevox Records |
| The Dude | Donald Byrd | Electric Byrd | Blue Note |
| Confronto | Lesiman | Here And Now Vol. 2 | Vedette Records |
| Essence | Donald Byrd | Electric Byrd | Blue Note |
| Natascha (Main Theme) | Peter Thomas Sound Orchestra | Van De Velde | All Score Media |
| The Other Side | Sure Fire Soul Ensemble | Step Down | Colemine Records |
