What do you call a segment of an orange? These juicy pieces of fruit go by lots of different names, including section, wedge, and carpel. But they’re also called pegs or even pigs! The stringy parts of a banana also have a surprising name...
Mike in Ukiah, California, grew up in the UK, where he often heard the expression to know your onions, meaning “to be knowledgeable about something.” He suspects the phrase is rhyming slang, but It’s most likely one of many...
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...
Eddie in Queens, New York, wonders why we use the phrase That’s bananas! to describe something wacky. What’s so funny about bananas? This is part of a complete episode.
banana-box grocer n.— «Some reclamation centers then sell these goods to brokers, which hawk them to small salvage stores. The goods are typically contained in boxes that once carried bananas, so these smaller operations are often called...
CBC n.— «And CBCs (Canadian-born Chinese), or “bananas,” also commonly use the term FOB to distance themselves from new Chinese immigrants.» —“The feud and the firebomb” by San Grewal Toronto...