Liam in San Francisco, California, emailed to share a passage from Donna Tartt’s novel, The Secret History (Bookshop|Amazon). It’s a sensuous description of the sights, sounds, and smells of autumn in Vermont. This is part of a complete...
In Korea, fairy tales often begin with the saying In the old days, when tigers used to smoke. Turkish children often hear an opening like this one: Once there was, once there was not, when camels were town criers and fleas were barbers, when I...
The Finnish verb kehrätä can mean “to spin thread” or “to purr like a cat.” This is part of a complete episode.
If you need another word for the infinity symbol, there’s always leminscate, from a Greek word meaning “ribbon” or “bow.” This is part of a complete episode.
Patrick in Jacksonville, Florida, is curious about an expression his family uses: just like downtown, meaning, “done really well,” or “performed to perfection.” This phrase, along with just like New York, originated in the...
The word conversation anagrams to voices rant on. This is part of a complete episode.