So you’ve long dreamed of writing fiction, but don’t know where to begin? There are lots of ways to get started — creative writing classes, local writing groups, and books with prompts to get you going. The key is to get started, and then stick with...
Marianne in Grants Pass, Oregon, first heard skookum after moving from Texas to Sitka, Alaska. The adjective, now chiefly heard in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, comes from Chinook Jargon, a contact language drawing on Chinook, Nootka, English...
Jeanne from Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, is perplexed by the phrase at first blush, which would seem to have to do with embarrassment. But at least as early as the mid-14th century, another meaning of blush has been “glance,” so at first blush simply...
Niesey from Laramie, Wyoming, is curious about the word mucky-muck, meaning “an important person,” and often “someone self-important.” Usually spelled muckety-muck, or muckamuck, it’s associated with the Chinook jargon of the Pacific Northwest, in...