Jenny from Portland, Oregon, is fascinated by the language of falconers. In falconry, the word bate means “to flap the wings impatiently.” A similarly spelled verb, which has nothing to do with falconry, figures in the expression to wait...
First names like “Patience,” “Hope,” and “Charity” are inspired by worthy qualities. But how about “Be-courteous” or “Hate-evil”? The Puritans sometimes gave children such names hoping that...
What’s the difference between a mosquito and a lawyer? One’s a bloodsucking parasite, and the other’s an insect. This bait-and-switch joke, like many good paraprosdokians, get their humor by going contrary to our expectations. This...
“A few pickles short of a jar,” “a few peas short of a casserole,” “two French fries short of a Happy Meal”—this week, Martha and Grant discuss these and other full-deckisms, those clever ways to describe someone...
David from Greenwich, Connecticut, asks about “fish or cut bait,” an idiom used when someone needs to make a choice rather than keep stalling. One interpretation treats “cut bait” as quitting fishing altogether and moving on to something else...
get one’s bait back v. phr.— «You have reason to hang in there, unless you can find another winner. (Auntie Spender says, if you are nervous in the market, just sell enough stock to get your bait back.)» —“Investor Features...