Remember when Bugs Bunny used to say, “Now wait just a cotton-pickin’ minute!”? A caller wants to know if cotton-pickin’ has racist overtones. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Cotton-Pickin'”...
“Go fly a kite!” A caller from Washington, D.C. wonders whose kite is getting flown and why. Naturally, we have some ideas! Here’s a copy of the cartoon Grant mentions (from the Chicago Tribune May 15, 1927, p. G2). This is part of...
A cantor from a synagogue in Nyack, New York, says she’s fond of the expression “the heebie-jeebies” but recently began worrying that it might be anti-Semitic. Did the term “heebie-jeebies” originate as a slur against...
A caller wonders about the origin of gedunk or geedunk, which means “ice cream” or “a snack bar” where you might buy sweets. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Where Did the Navy Term “Gedunk” for a...