Dylan from Charlottesville, Virginia, was rock climbing at his brother’s bachelor party when he heard other climbers called gumbies. Dylan figured that a gumby must be the kind of beginner or overconfident participant whose skills don’t...
Why do some Spanish speakers use adaptations of certain English terms when there’s already a perfectly good word for the same thing in Spanish? Sometimes the result is called “Spanglish.” For example, Spanish cuentas means “bills,”...
A listener from Charlottesville, Virginia, is dating a professional golfer who often plays a Calcutta with other tour members. Calcutta, a betting game going back over 200 years, involves every player betting before the tournament on who they think...
When is it okay to correct someone’s grammar? Grant offers two rules: Correct someone only if they’ve asked you to, or if they’re paying you to. Otherwise, telling someone they should’ve used I instead of me is just interrupt...
If something’s all chicken but the gravy, then it’s all good. This colloquialism pops up in an exchange from a 1969 Congressional record. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “All Chicken But the Gravy” Hello...
A veteran broadcaster recalls a brilliant example of sesquipedalian language. Fifty years ago, he stubbed his foot on the beach and a group of college boys told him to go to his parents and get an anatomical juxtaposition of the orbicular ors...