If you alternate alcoholic beverages with glasses of water over the course of an evening, you’re said to be zebra striping. This bit of slang was inspired by how the animal’s alternating black-and-white markings are like the contrast between the...
John in Frisco, Texas, is puzzled by his dad’s phrase tougher than a boiled owl. Although it sounds unappetizing, the phrase has a fascinating backstory. In the 18th century, owls were associated with drunkenness, and often invoked in the phrase...
Birdie means to drink from someone else’s bottle or glass without letting your lips touch it, as in “I’ll birdie it.” The same maneuver is also called waterfalling, because the drink is poured through the air into your mouth. Other reported names...
The origin of “the whole shebang,” meaning “the whole thing,” is somewhat mysterious. It may derive from an Irish word, shabeen, which meant “a disreputable drinking establishment,” then expanded to denote other kinds of structures, including “an...
Jingoism is not archaic yet, just a sharper-than-usual word for aggressive, chest-thumping nationalism. Katie in East Thetford, Vermont, had used jingoistic for a political candidate and wondered if it was merely a family word. Its history runs...
Hyperbolic Headlines Will Restore Your Faith In Humanity!!!! Or maybe not. You’ve seen those breathless headlines on the internet, like “You Won’t Believe What This 7-year-old Said to The President!” They’re supposed to lure you to another...