Whippoorwills, bob whites, and chickadees. How do we decide the names of birds and what to call their calls? Plus, the last syllables of Arkansas and Kansas are pronounced differently, but they come from the same etymological root. And: What’s the...
Colin from Los Angeles, California, is pondering the expression make no bones about it, which suggests the speaker is talking or acting with no hesitation whatsoever. The saying is inspired by the idea of literally finding bones in one’s food, since...
In White Oleander (Bookshop|Amazon), novelist Janet Fitch touts the value of memorizing poetry with these memorable lines: Always learn poems by heart. They have to become the marrow in your bones. Like fluoride in the water, they’ll make your soul...
According to Robert Macfarlane’s book Landmarks, long, thin patches of snow that have not yet melted are called snow bones. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Snow Bones” Here’s another term from the book...
A listener in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, was surprised to learn that in England the word marrow refers to zucchini. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Marrow Vegetable” We heard from Lucy Zeldin-Rust, who listens to us in Two...
A prison employee wants to know about the term shank, that name for sharp weapons made with toothbrushes and pieces of metal. It derives from shank in the sense of the type of animal bone historically used in weapon making. This is part of a...