Commonly heard in Australia, fair dinkum is used to describe something “authentic” or “legitimate.” This phrase is also used as an intensifier. Less common versions: square dinkum and straight dinkum. The expression fair...
Mark from Richland Center, Wisconsin, wonders about the origin of the expression Murphy’s Law, which is often rendered as Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. The concept has been around for years, but researchers Fred Shapiro, Stephen...
Ashley in Danville, Kentucky, lived for a few years in Australia, where she picked up the phrase full as a goog. In Australia, a goog is an egg, so if you’re full as a goog, you’re completely full. The phrase can also refer to someone...
During a trip to a renaissance faire, Quiz Guy John Chaneski noticed a fellow festooned with cuts of meat. Who might yon noble knight be, if not Sir Loin of Beef? That experience inspired John’s latest puzzle about others dubbed Sir this or...
Amanda in Melbourne, Australia, provides a much better way to read the rebus about racehorses that we shared in a previous episode. This is part of a complete episode.
A caller wonders if she’s being hypersensitive about the way her boss addresses her in emails. Can the use of an employee’s first name ever reflect a power differential? And: a community choir director wants a term for “the act of...
