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 of a...
Jennifer in Andrews, South Carolina, is curious about the term case quarter, meaning “a single 25-cent coin — not two dimes and a nickel and not five nickels.” It’s heard mainly in South Carolina, particularly among African-Americans. The origin of...
To garner the laurels, meaning “to collect praise,” refers to the ancient practice of awarding crowns of bay laurel leaves to victors in competitions. This tradition of honoring distinction with such a wreath is reflected in the terms Nobel laureate...
Squiffy, that British slang term for drunk, has also come to mean “askew.” At a Roman orgy, for example, you might have found people wearing squiffy laurel crowns. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Squiffy Askew” We were talking...
What’s the correct pronunciation of crayon? Is it cray-on? Cran? Crown? Here’s a dialect survey map that shows the distribution of these pronunciations. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Regional Pronunciations of Crayon” Hi, you...
rat goof n.— «In previous court appearances, Semchuk frequently hurled invectives at both the Crown and judge, often referring to them as “rat goofs” and “incompetent.”» —“Crown wants Semchuk deemed dangerous offender” BCLocalNews.com (British...