Zack in Tallahassee, Florida, wonders: Why do we use the name John Doe to refer to someone anonymous or unknown? The names John Doe and Richard Roe go back to at least the 1300s, when they were used in land-related legal matters as pseudonyms for...
pea-shake house n.— «The evidence I heard from that police officer was that the defendant said he got the money in a pea-shake house. There’s no testimony he got it gambling, stealing it, selling drugs or any illegal activity. Being in a...