When James from Waco, Texas, was lost while hiking, he wondered Where in the blazes am I?, then wondered about the origin of that expression. It doesn’t derive from blaze meaning “to cut into a tree to mark a trail.” That term belongs to a family of...
As a Wyoming caller noted in an earlier episode, through-hikers on routes like the Appalachian Trail give each other trail names — jocular appellations that stick throughout their trek. The origin stories of several of these are told in the book...
When Liz from Laramie, Wyoming, was hiking the Appalachian Trail, some fellow hikers and locals assumed from her accent that she grew up outside the United States. The assumptions made by people she met probably had more to do with the context...
What you call the space between mountains depends on which part of the country you’re in. The word gap is used more in the Southern United States, notch in the Northeast, and saddle or pass in the West. See Grant’s analysis of place names on the...
A recent PBS special about Appalachia has a caller wondering how to pronounce that region’s name. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Appalachia Pronunciation” Hi there, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is Sherry. Where are you...
bounce box n.— «The couple also has another method of replenishing—what they call a bounce box. “You bounce it from town to town and go through its contents. If you need shampoo or nail clippers, you use it, then send it to the next town you’re...
