A listener in Newport News, Virginia, says that sometimes, just for fun, he answers the phone with a homophonous I’m here to hear. You have my ear! This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Homophonous Phone Greeting: I’m Here to Hear, You...
Susan from Asheville, North Carolina, is surprised that fellow members of her writers’ group didn’t understand her use of the phrase I was on my ear meaning “I was upset.” This expression and variants of it have been around since at least the 1860s...
Like Bott’s dots and cat’s eyes, the word neckdown comes from the language of traffic flow regulation. A neckdown is an extension of a curb that widens the path for pedestrians and slows moving vehicles. Also called curb extensions, bulb-outs, bump...
Jamie from Calais, Vermont, says an unfortunate experience with an insect made her wonder about the expression to put a bug in your ear or put a bug in one’s ear, meaning “to make a strong, insistent suggestion to someone.” An older expression, to...
Pat in Aubrey, Texas, wonders why adults discussing a certain topic may warn each other that children are within earshot with the expression “little pitchers have big ears.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “”Little Pitchers Have...
A Black Mountain, North Carolina, man is trying to popularize the word earspace, which he feels can be used in two different ways. One sense is the available time a person has to take in something by listening, as in “I have earspace for a new...
