A woman in Lincoln, Nebraska, says her father, a Missouri cattleman, would answer the question How are you? by replying Couldn’t be better with less in all my life! This is part of a complete episode.
Chris from Kittery, Maine, wonders about the colloquial expression no sirree, Bob! or yes sirree, Bob!, which is an emphatic way of saying “definitely not!” or “no way!” The sirree (sometimes spelled with one r, as siree) in...
Andre from Campbellsville, Kentucky, says his mother won’t watch a movie if it’s ary a bit violent. What does the word ary mean? Spelled airy, ara, arey, or ery, this dialectal term a shortening of ever a, and means “any” or...
If you’re mommicked, if you’re bothered, frustrated, or exhausted. Most often heard in coastal North Carolina, mommicked derives from an old word mammock, which as a noun, means “a fragment,” and as a verb, means “to...
Mary Judy in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, says when her mom was particularly frazzled or disheveled, she’d say she felt as if she’d been pulled through a knothole backwards. The expression goes back to the early 19th century. Variants...
Sue from Nome, Alaska, says that when her grandmother was astonished, she’d sometimes exclaim Well, burn my clothing! The more common expression is Well, burn my clothes! This is part of a complete episode.