Dude! We’re used to hearing the word “dude” applied to guys. But increasingly, young women use the word “dude” to address each other. Grant and Martha talk about linguistic research about the meaning and uses of...
Todd in Dallas picked up you ain’t just whistling Dixie from the movie Clue, where it means “you’re not kidding” or “that’s no exaggeration.” The expression traces back to the catchy song first popularized in 1850s blackface minstrel shows, and the...
What’s for dinner? How about wind pudding, air sauce, and a side of balloon trimmings? This colorful euphemism for “nothing” dates as far back as the American Civil War, when troops would come into the mess tent, see a wild...