Lachryphagy is literally “tear-eating,” and refers to the way some insects crawl up to the eyes of much larger animals to sip their protein-rich tears. The name of the wine Lachryma Christi means “tear of Christ,” and someone tearful is said to be...
Mark in Scranton, Pennsylvania, calls about a phrase he heard on an old detective show: drop a dime. It means “to inform on someone” or “tip off the police,” and comes from the practice of literally dropping a dime into a...
Quiz Guy John Chaneski is starry-eyed about his latest puzzle, which involves the names of constellations. You might guess that the constellation Aquila has something to do with water. Actually, it’s named for a bird. Which one? This is part...
Inspired by our conversation about the language of leave-taking and the Southern expression Y’all come go home with us, Claire in Durham, North Carolina, calls to reminisce about her experience as a teenager in Mexico and the extended good...
A bolt-hole is a place where you can escape to avoid people you don’t want to run into. This term for “a type of refuge” is used mainly in Britain, and refers to a place an animal might flee to if disturbed. This is part of a...
In Ireland, if you say someone’s not as slow as he walks easy, you mean he’s a whole lot smarter than he appears. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Not as Slow as Someone Walks Easy” Here’s an Irish...
