Advice about college essays from the winner of a top prize for children’s literature: Kelly Barnhill encourages teens to write about experiences that are uniquely their own, from a point of view that is theirs and no one else’s. Plus...
There are many proposed origins for the exclamation of surprise, holy Toledo! But the most likely one involves not the city in Ohio, but instead Toledo, Spain, which has been a major religious center for centuries in the traditions of both Islam and...
A tattoo artist in Wilmington, North Carolina, is debating the correct pronunciation of labret, a piercing just below the lip. The best choice is to put the stress on the first syllable, which should make it have assonance more or less with tablet...
A listener in Helena, Montana, shares a followup to our conversation about the question Do you live around here or ride a bicycle? A similarly goofy expression goes Is it further to Butte or by bus? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
Kolin in Los Angeles, California, says his friend Helen is known for writing witty tweets that go viral, such as one about the difference between men’s and women’s midlife crises. He says she credits her success in part to her use of...
It’s been said that the most beautiful combination of words in English is cellar door. But why? After this caller raised the question, Grant did even more digging on the topic. The result: He wrote an article about it that appeared in the New...

