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Fail-Safe vs. Fail-Proof

A discussion on the English Language & Usage Stack Exchange about things that can still be useful even if they longer function properly, such as escalators and moving sidewalks, included several intriguing expressions involving partial failure...

Pick Your Brain

On our Facebook group, listeners had a spirited discussion about the expression I’d like to pick your brain, meaning “I’d like to get your advice.” It’s a metaphor for extracting knowledge, of course, but the literal...

More Thin Places

Listeners weigh in on our discussion about thin places, those locales where the mundane and mystical appear to merge. This is part of a complete episode.

A Clever Pangram

Our discussion about pangrams, those sentences that include every letter of the alphabet at least once, inspired a sharp listener to send us this one: How skillfully my acupuncturist jabs a needle into quivering flesh, exacting a zing! This is part...

Student Pangrams

After hearing our discussion about pangrams, those sentences that contain every letter of the alphabet at least once, a middle-school teacher in Bishop, California, assigned her students to write some. They’re great! This is part of a complete...