Listeners respond to our earlier conversation about ending a telephone call with mmm-bye. This is part of a complete episode.
Leave a comment
1 comment
More from this show
The English language has a variety of expressions referring to the excretion of moisture from the skin due to heat. There’s the verb perspire and the Yiddish borrowing schvitz. If you perspire profusely, you may sweat buckets, or be sweating like a...
A Havertown, Pennsylvania, listener wonders why her mother used to answer queries about how she was doing with phrase that sounded like either fair to midland or fair to middling. Middling has long meant “just OK” or “right in the middle,” and the...
I listened to this the other day on the air and did not even realize that I also say “mmmm Bye” when I end a phone call. It was mentioned that it could be that the “mmmm” part originates from “mmmm-hmmmm”, acknowledging the whole conversation. I would have to agree with that explanation as I am typically saying “Yes I got it, goodbye.” I just noticed that I did it today when I ended a call, and that acknowledgment was my intention. Funny that the guy who asked about the phrase was also from Omaha, NE where I reside. Thanks!