How do you pronounce rooibos? The name of this tea comes from the Afrikaans words rooi bos, meaning “red bush.” Rooibos is pronounced ROY-boss, but it’s also called bush tea, red tea, or redbush tea. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
If you make a beeline for something, you’re taking the shortest route possible. You’re also mimicking bee-havior! After a bee has visited enough flowers to gather nectar, she flies straight back to the hive. And: Even a word like throttlebottom...
Among the words added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2024 is babyccino, “a children’s drink consisting of hot milk that has been frothed up with pressurized steam so as to resemble a cappuccino.” Originating in Australia, this term has been...
Clinomania and dysania are learned-sounding words for an all-too-familiar state: extreme difficulty getting out of bed. In clinomania, the clino- element traces to ancient words connected with leaning or lying down, the same idea heard in incline...
Is there an express in espresso? Nope. Cafe espresso is literally “pressed-out coffee.” So the name espresso has nothing to do with the speed with which espresso is made. The term express, on the other hand, as in express train, derives from the...
Savannah of Washington, D.C., and her South African husband, John, have opposite readings of jacked up: to her, if the D.C. Metro is “jacked up” then it’s messed up; to him, it is impressively “raised up” or better than expected. The phrase is...
