Allison in Redwood City, California, says her family has long used the word zorbit to refer to what happens when someone playfully blows a raspberry on your cheek or belly to make a funny sound. That’s probably their version of a fanciful word first...
Linda from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, gives directions to her remote home by telling people to turn left after the whoopsy-daisy, her term for a sudden dip in the road. There are quite a few colloquial expressions for such abrupt depression or...
Following up on our talk about regional terms for a small, raised section of road, such as tickle bump and belly-tickler, Martha shares a passage from The Guardian Angel by Oliver Wendell Holmes, which references another term for that kind of bump...
If you go to a party and the host neglects to put out the food that guests brought, or offers only a small portion of it, they’re what you might call a belly robber. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Belly Robber” I made a note of...
Need a good Scrabble word? Grant shares some of his favorites. Also, why do we call those classic screwball films madcap comedies? And what does it mean to walk in a crocodile? Plus mondegreens, naval slang, learned vs learnt, and “No way, Jose!”...
Where do we get the phrase “belly up”? The expression has made its way to the bar, but the original belly up belonged to a dead fish. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Belly Up” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hello, this is Tracy...
