Zack in Santa Barbara, California, is curious about what’s happening when someone interjects the expression Right? in the middle of a sentence or explanation without allowing time for the listener to respond. Expressions like Right? and You know? are tag questions, which can have any of several different linguistic functions. Depending on the situation, a tag question might be used to accomplish such things as building camaraderie with the listener, soliciting tacit agreement, holding the floor, or yielding it. 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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