Gopal from Greenville, North Carolina, wonders why we use the phrase my two cents after expressing an opinion to indicate that we’re open to discussion about it. Since the 16th century, the term twopence has been used to mean a “paltry...
A voicemail from a Hawaii listener leads to a discussion of the correct pronunciation for Aegis, a naval combat system. Is it EE-jiss or AY-jiss? In Greek myth, an aegis was a protective shield, and today, to be under the aegis means to be...
An artist asks strangers to write haiku about the pandemic and gets back poetic, poignant glimpses of life under lockdown. Plus, the new book Queenspotting features the colorful language of beekeeping! Bees tell each other about a good source of...
Our discussion about the phrase Go sit on a tack! prompted a listener to send us a math-minded version, Go divide 22 by 7!. This is part of a complete episode.
Following up on our discussion of the really big word you ever learned, some listeners responded with antidisestablishmentarianism, a word rarely seen except in, well, discussions of big words. This is part of a complete episode.
After our discussion about altered signs with new meanings, Kitty from Burlington, Vermont, shares a funny story about the letters on the side of a rental truck. This is part of a complete episode.