The word filibuster has a colorful etymology. It goes back to a Dutch word, vrijbuiter, which means “plunderer” or “robber,” the source also of the English word freebooter, or “pirate,” and a linguistic relative...
Ever try to write a well-known passage in limerick form? It’s harder than you think. How about this one: “There once was a lady who’s sure / All that glitters is golden and pure/ There’s a stairway that heads up to heaven...
Bonspiel is a word for a curling match, and derives from the Dutch term spiel, meaning “game.” This is part of a complete episode.
Is that a winklehawk in your pants? A listener shares this word for those L-shaped rips in your trousers, from an old Dutch term for “a carpenter’s L-shaped tool.” And Grant has a new favorite term, motherwit, meaning “the...