Dexter in Clintonville, Alabama, reports that his Minnesota-born wife was baffled after she sneezed and he responded with Scat cat! Across the American South, this phrase and variations of it serve as an informal response when someone sneezes. Other versions include Scat there, your son bit your tail off!, Scat, cat your tail’s on fire!, Scat cat, get your tail out of the gravy!, Scat cat, get your tail out of the butter! No one’s sure how this expression came to be, although it may have to do with the ancient belief that a sneeze involves releasing an evil spirit from the body. Other ways to wish a sneezer well, of course, include Bless you!, as well as German Geshundheit!, and Spanish ¡Salud!, both of which literally mean “health.” 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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