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Lachryphagy is literally “tear-eating,” and refers to the way some insects crawl up to the eyes of much larger animals to sip their protein-rich tears. The name of the wine Lachryma Christi means “tear of Christ,” and someone...
Arthur in New Bern, North Carolina, wonders why we say something that isn’t difficult is as easy as pie when making a pie is a whole lot of work. This phrase most likely refers to the ease of eating a pie, not making one. This is part of a...
The expression you look like death eating on a Nab means “you look terrible.” It’s a humorous elaboration of the idea of death, which refers to death consuming a dry, salty, peanut-butter-filled snack made by the Nabisco company...
If you catch your blue jeans on a nail, you may find yourself with a winklehawk. This term, adapted into English from Dutch, means “an L-shaped tear in a piece of fabric.” And: What’s your relationship with the books on your...
Why do we use the word heat to denote a preliminary qualifying race? Hundreds of years ago, a single instance of heating something such as a piece of metal over a fire for metalworking was called a heat. Later that term was applied to “a round...
Pearline from Fort Worth, Texas, wonders why anyone would ever advise that You can’t have your cake and eat it too. Like so many English phrases, it doesn’t pay to analyze the literal meaning too closely. This is part of a complete...