Dubbing someone a knight by tapping their shoulder with a sword is a venerable tradition, but that didn’t stop a wag from mocking it in limerick form with a groaner of a pun. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Knighting...
In Chicano English, the word barely, which traditionally means “just happened,” can also mean “almost didn’t happen,” as in “I just barely got here.” This locution apparently reflects the fact that in...
In Spanish and French, if you have the equivalent of “a white night,” it means you didn’t get much sleep. In Sweden, if you have a “white week,” it means you didn’t drink a drop of alcohol. This is part of a...
Remember the classic children’s story “Where the Wild Thongs Are”? (We didn’t think so.) That’s just one of the autocorrect horror stories that can happen with smartphone auto-mis-corrections. Martha and Grant discuss...
What would you serve a plumber for dinner? How about leeks? (We didn’t say it had to be appetizing.) What would you serve a jeweler? Carats! Martha and Grant play the “What Would You Serve?” game. This is part of a complete episode...
For a closer look at the language of the twitterati, check out Erin McKean’s recent piece in the Boston Globe. Glossaries of Twitter-related terms can be found at Twittonary, and Twictionary. We didn’t say all the coinages were clever...