Have you heard of carspreading? It’s like manspreading but for vehicles, cars that take up more and more space and refuse to yield. The term is gaining traction in urban planning circles, particularly in Europe, where studies show new cars are...
How long can a newly married woman be called a bride? Does bride apply only as long as her wedding day, or does it extend right on through the couple’s silver anniversary and beyond? Plus, insightful advice about writing from a Pulitzer...
To grok something means “to understand it completely.” The word grok comes from a language spoken on the planet Mars—well, at least according to the science fiction writer who coined the term! Also, we know the meaning of the word...
Rod in Alexandria, Louisiana, says that in his real estate business, cut to the chase means to “get to the bottom line.” In the early days of the movie industry, when a sagging plot could be livened up by cutting directly to an exciting...
In German, the electronic dashboard display on a car has a picturesque name. It’s Mäusekino, literally, “mouse cinema.” The Hungarian term for “mouse cinema,” egérmozi, is often applied to various kinds of small...
Matthew in Cincinnati, Ohio, says his grandfather used to refer to his car as the machine. Around the turn of the 20th century, it wasn’t uncommon to apply the term machine to automobiles. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...