In Cantabrigian tradition, a wooden spoon was jokingly awarded to low achievers in mathematics. That practice later extended to other types of competitions. It’s also key to a heartwarming story about a charitable organization that arose from...
Lauren from La Crescenta, California, says her 98-year-old grandfather uses a rather obscure saying. As a kid, if Lauren or her sister won a meaningless contest, he’d award them an imaginary prize he called the crocheted gidote. Or maybe...
Do you know where your participle is dangling? Martha and Grant salute National Grammar Day. Also, when you’re scribbling on a piece of paper, do you find yourself expecting spellcheck to kick in and underline your misspellings with squiggly...
Karen in Texas asks on behalf of her 12-year-old son about the origin of booby trap. The booby in that phrase is the old sense boob or booby, a fool, possibly from Spanish bobo, “fool,” and reinforced by the goofy reputation of the blue-footed booby...