Emilia from Chicago, Illinois, says a co-worker used the phrase get the Motts to denote the feeling of second-hand embarrassment she feels for someone when watching a cringeworthy performance. The phrase I got the Motts became a catchphrase in the...
Tim in Unadilla, New York, says his grandmother used to say It’s a great life if you don’t weaken. For some reason, in 1914 this catchphrase exploded on both sides of the Atlantic. Other versions: It’s a gay life if you don’t...
Jennifer in Omaha, Nebraska, is curious about the origin of the phrase to be in the soup, meaning “to get into trouble.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “To Be in the Soup” Hello, you have A Way with Words...
Patricia from Fort Worth, Texas, has been mystified by an expression her husband’s grandmother would use when trying to avoid answering a question about where something had gone. She’d say it’s gone where the woodbine twineth and...
Cool your jets, meaning calm down or take it easy, was already older than Kurt from Utah’s mid-1970s childhood near Edwards Air Force Base. The trail points back to the 1950s TV serial Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, whose rocket-age slang included plug...
Good googly moogly—or great googly moogly—is a jubilant exclamation for surprise, delight, or emphasis, something Lisa from Chesapeake, Virginia, remembers her father saying over a big fish at Hatteras Harbor Marina. The form was established in...
