Hissy fits, or frivolous tantrums often associated with girls, particularly in the Southern United States, probably derive from the word hysterical. An Alabama caller started thinking about the origin of this word after learning of the opening of a...
You might refer to those soft rolls of dust that collect under your bed as dust bunnies, dust kitties, or woolies, but in the Deep South they’re sometimes called house moss. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “House...
The enviable poker position known as the catbird seat belongs to the last player to bet, who can see everyone else act first. Mike, a poker player in Alabama, wants to know how the phrase got there. Baseball broadcaster Red Barber said he first...
A truck driver in Tucson, Arizona, has a dispute with her boyfriend: If you toss something out, do you chuck it or chunk it? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Chuck It vs. Chunk It” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi...
Have you ever been faced with a defugalty? This ironic misspelling and mispronunciation of difficulty popped up in a Dashiell Hammett novel, They Glass Key, in 1931. It’s often said with a tongue in the cheek, but, as in the case of the...
A North Carolina man says he was surprised as a child when he did a chore for his grandmother, and the Yankee dime she promised him turned out to be a peck on the cheek. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Paid with a Yankee...
