You pick up what you think a glass of water and take a sip, but it turns out to be Sprite. What’s the word for that sensation when you’re expecting one thing and taste something else? Also, slang from college campuses, like ratchet and dime piece...
Plenty of lizards are scary looking, but that doesn’t make them scorpions. Even so, there are places like Western Virginia where the word scorpion is used to refer to a lizard, such as the five-lined skink, known for its distinctive blue tail. This...
Dog chewing waspers, a Virginia expression Rona heard from her father in the Blue Ridge area, pictures someone chewing gum with their mouth open and plenty of teeth showing. Waspers means wasps, with related pronunciations such as warshpers heard in...
Why is pink a girl color and blue a boy color? In the 19th Century, pink used to be associated with boys, since it was a stronger, more decided color. Blue, on the other hand, was regarded as a girls’ color, because it was considered dainty. It...
After passing by an establishment featuring adult entertainment, an Asheville, N.C., man began wondering: When did the word adult come to refer to “material not suitable for children”? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Adult...
blue n.— «Who are the Patriots eyeing at No. 18? Both teams have to want to make a move. I think the Bears need to stay put. They need what are called “blues” and those are players who could start for any team in the league. How many blues do the...