What the fox says may be a mystery, but we do know that dogs bark differently around the world. In China, for example, they say not bow-wow but wang wang. Also, the story behind the British tradition of scrumping. It’s not a middle school dance...
To mash the brake or mash the elevator button comes from a Southern instance of mash meaning “to press something hard.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Mash the Brake” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hello, this is Mike Semrau...
Martha and Grant discuss why some puns work and others don’t. Martha recommends John Pollack’s observation in The Pun Also Rises describing how “for a split second, puns manage to hold open the elevator doors of language and meaning as the brain...
blind hoistway n.— «He concluded that he must be on the thirteenth floor, and that, this being an express elevator, there was no egress from the shaft anywhere for many stories up or down. (Such a shaft is known as a blind hoistway.)» —“Up And Then...
arctic shell n.— «Although there are no strict definitions, “cold shells” are generally facilities where tenants may have to install bathrooms, elevators and air conditioning. But that’s not as bad as an “arctic shell,” which doesn’t have much more...
tropical shell n.— «Although there are no strict definitions, “cold shells” are generally facilities where tenants may have to install bathrooms, elevators and air conditioning. But that’s not as bad as an “arctic shell,” which doesn’t have much...