We spoke on the show recently about the term avuncular, meaning like an uncle, and some listeners responded with terms for being like an aunt. Try out auntly or avauntular, if you’re looking to impress and/or alienate someone at the reunion. This is...
A listener from Falmouth, Maine, disagrees with his Canadian friends about how to pronounce the word aunt. He says it shouldn’t sound like the name of the insect. But is that the way most people pronounce this word for your mother’s sister? This is...
anting n.— «The behavior you witnessed, Mona, is called “anting.” I know it seems like it should be called “mothballing,” but anting is much easier to say. Plus, more often than not, birds rub their feathers with ants.…Over 250 different species of...
