In Spanish, someone who’s conceited may be described as considering themselves la ultima Coca-Cola del desierto or “the last Coca-Cola in the desert.” Similar Spanish phrases are rendered in English as “the last beer in the stadium” or “the last...
Jeff in Green Bay, Wisconsin, is looking for a specific word for “exhaustion after extreme physical activity, such as running a marathon.” Synonyms for exhausted include knackered and forswunk, from swink, meaning “to toil” or “to work hard.” In...
Following up on our conversation about the phrase good enough for who it’s for, referring to something that wasn’t done perfectly but was nevertheless good enough, a Clarinda, Iowa, listener shares a similar phrase he used when doing construction...
The expression to run the traps means “to perform due diligence” or “solicit a wide variety of opinions” or “investigate every angle thoroughly.” This metaphor derives from the literal sense of running the traps, which refers to hunting and fishing...
Greg in Mena, Arkansas, says that when he was learning to be a professional pilot, one of his instructors would say, You thought like Nelly if someone had thought they were doing something correctly, but failed to. Although the phrase is not that...
Ron in Gloverville, South Carolina, wonders about the phrase since hatchet was hammer, which some use to mean “for a long period of time,” as in My family has lived here since hatchet was hammer. Another phrase he’s heard indicating the same thing...