Eels, orts, and Wordle! Sweden awarded its most prestigious literary award to a book about…eels. The Book of Eels reveals the mysterious life cycle of this sea creature and its significance for famous figures from Aristotle to Sigmund Freud. Plus...
To grok something means “to understand it completely.” The word grok comes from a language spoken on the planet Mars—well, at least according to the science fiction writer who coined the term! Also, we know the meaning of the word trauma, but is...
Michelle in Williamsburg, Virginia, wonders about the origin of alley-oop!, which she says when hoisting her toddler. It’s from French allez, the imperative of aller meaning “to go” and houp or hop, an onomatopoeic utterance made while expending...
The archaic English word ruelle means “the space between a bed and the wall.” It’s adapted from French ruelle meaning “a small alley or lane.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Ruelle, Meaning the Space Between the Bed and the Wall”...
Kristin lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, grew up in England, where public footpaths between buildings are called ginnels in Yorkshire and twittens in Sussex. Other terms around the country for these pathways include chare, snicket, jitty, jigger, and wynd...
Shawn, who lives in Washington State, is used to hearing the phrase right up your alley to describe something that’s particularly fitting for someone. Then she heard a British vlogger use the phrase right up your street in the same way. Since the...