The French have a musical term for paperclip. They call it le trombone. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Le Trombone” Grant, remember when we were talking about the French term for pie chart? Yeah, but I don’t...
Sue in Wilder, Vermont, asks about the big cheese, a family title for her father since a pre-wedding barbecue in 1977. The phrase probably has little to do with dairy. One likely strand is Urdu and Persian chiz, meaning “thing,” which British...
You think you look sexy saying “Cheese!” as a photographer snaps away? Better yet, try cooing “Prunes!” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Say “Prunes!”” Grant, remember when we were...
Is there any etymological connection between the dairy product and the adjective cheesy, meaning inferior, cheap, or otherwise sub-par? This descriptive term for something lowbrow or poorly made at one point had positive connotations in the 1800s...
At Murray’s Cheese in Grand Central Station, the workers who sell cheese are called cheesemongers. The store’s opening up a new section to sell cold cuts, and workers there are looking for more appetizing term than meatmonger. (Meat-R...
reef v.— «Fittings: An ironic term describing plumbing parts that don’t fit together no matter how hard you reef on them.» —“Say cheese, then get scrubbing—How to put words to your dishwasher woes” by Mag...