Michelle in Thorne Bay, Alaska, wonders why a skittish person may be called a nervous Nellie. That term is associated with the nickname of politician Frank B. Kellogg, who was considered overly emotional and indecisive, but who also won the 1929...
It’s hard to remember how to spell the names of some cities. Tallahassee, Florida, for example. Then there are towns with very few letters to remember. Y, a tiny town in northern France, has only two main streets, which come together to form...
Courtney in Anchorage, Alaska, and her teenage son disagree: Should that collection of music be called a mixtape or a mixed tape? The former is far more common, and reflects that linguistic process known as lenition or “softening,” in...
Amanda in Tucson, Arizona, dislikes the phrase kill two birds with one stone and wants to popularize a non-violent alternative: feed two birds with one seed. An Alaska listener once suggested the phrase save two birds with one stone, perhaps...
Sue from Nome, Alaska, says that when her grandmother was astonished, she’d sometimes exclaim Well, burn my clothing! The more common expression is Well, burn my clothes! This is part of a complete episode.
A book of photographs and essays by famous writers celebrates libraries — and the librarians who changed their lives. Plus cutting doughnuts, spinning cookies, and pulling brodies: There are lots of ways to talk about spinning a car in circles on...