Shawn, who lives in Washington State, is used to hearing the phrase right up your alley to describe something that’s particularly fitting for someone. Then she heard a British vlogger use the phrase right up your street in the same way. Since...
A Dutch door is split horizontally so the bottom half can stay latched while the top half swings open. It’s also called a stable door or half-door, and the barn association helps explain the informal name Mr. Ed door. That nickname points to the...
Store clerks: If someone asks for a case quarter in change, it means they don’t want two dimes and a nickel or five nickels. They want a single 25-cent piece. Same for a case dollar, case dime, or case nickel. The customer is asking for a...
Lawrence from San Diego asks whether an assignment should ask what students have learned or what they have learnt. The older -t past-tense and past-participle forms—learnt, spelt, and the like—largely gave way to -ed forms in American English during...
Why do we call a run-down area skid row? Here’s a picture of a skid road from Out West, vol. 19, ed. Charles F. Lummis, 1902, Out West Company, Los Angeles This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Skid Row” Hello, you...
scholasticide n.— «Now in Gaza…we see the policy more clearly than ever—this “scholasticide.” The Israelis know nothing about who we really are, while we study and study them. But deep down they know how important...