Following our conversation about fossicking for gemstones, a listener in Melbourne, Australia, points out that where he’s from, emu is slang for a person who picks up discarded tickets at a racetrack, hoping to find an accidentally discarded...
Amanda in Tucson, Arizona, dislikes the phrase kill two birds with one stone and wants to popularize a non-violent alternative: feed two birds with one seed. An Alaska listener once suggested the phrase save two birds with one stone, perhaps...
An ornithologist says there’s a growing movement to change the name of a pink-footed bird currently called the flesh-footed shearwater. The movement reflects a growing understanding that using flesh-colored for “pink” fails to...
urohydrosis n.— Note: The word is misspelled in the article. «For instance, the vultures urinate on their own legs, which both cools them down and applies an antiseptic that speeds healing—a practice called urophydrosis.» —“Raptors...
tar-tar n.— Note: “Toi toi” is a type of grass native to New Zealand, as described here, although there is at least one species of bird native to the country, the North Island tomtit, that is of the subspecies “toitoi...
chicken ark n.— «Getting set up with chickens can be very cheap: the birds themselves cost from 25p to £20 each and the housing can be home-made, although a wooden chicken “ark” will cost around £200.» —“How to be a 21st...