As a Wyoming caller noted in an earlier episode, through-hikers on routes like the Appalachian Trail give each other trail names — jocular appellations that stick throughout their trek. The origin stories of several of these are told in the book...
The Little Free Library movement offers a great way to unload some of your old books and discover some ones that someone else has left for the taking. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Little Free Libraries” You’re listening to A...
Nerd used to be a term of derision, connoting someone who was socially awkward and obsessed with a narrow field of interest. Now it’s used more admiringly for anyone who has a passion for a particular topic. Linguists call that type of softening...
The Spanish idiom, arrimar el ascua a su sardina, literally means “to bring an ember to one’s own sardine.” It means “to look out for number one,” the idea being that if a group is cooking sardines over a fire, and each person pulls out a coal to...
Can reading poetry make you a better writer? The way poetry pushes up against the rules of grammar makes it a great teacher even for the writing of standard prose. And while plenty of poems are best comprehended by the wise and mature, hip-hop is a...
When would you give a pounding to someone in need? When you’re talking about a community coming together to give food staples to, say, the new family in town or a new bride and groom. The term pounding, also known as a pound party, derives from the...