For years, teachers have warned against using the word ain’t, apparently with some success. Emily Hummell from Boston sent us a poem that may have contributed: “Don’t say ain’t / your mother will faint / your father will fall...
A San Diego woman says that when her baby starts crying in another room, her in-laws have a habit of saying, “Another country heard from!” This expression’s roots go back to elections in the 19th century, and was originally...
cash-back car n.— «For more than a decade, Kempton has researched, lobbied, and agitated for these “cash-back cars.” His and other in-depth studies describe a future where electric-car owners plug in at malls, hardware stores, or home...
In this week’s “Slang This!,” a member of the National Puzzlers’ League from Boston tries to guess the meaning of four possible slang terms, including labanza, woefits, prosciutto, and moose-tanned. This is part of a complete...
We asked you to tell us about odd regional food names, and boy did you oblige! Martha reads some of your letters about whoopie pies, hot tamales, pretzel salad, coolers, and the frappe vs. milkshake controversy.
beaglemation n.— «Small towns mean people who probably know you in some form, and my dog, Lucy, what I call a “beaglemation” (part beagle, part Dalmatian) has a smallish reputation.» —“Surprises on our back-road...