“Knowledge is knowing tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.” Thank you to our listeners for this and other modern proverbs. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Modern Proverbs from...
In this week’s episode, “It was bright cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen.” Martha and Grant discuss their favorite first lines from novels. Also this week, palmer-housing, beanplating, meeting cute, bad...
Has your boss ever used the expression “Let’s put the moose on the table”? This management buzzphrase, meaning “let’s address the problem everyone’s been avoiding,” is relatively new, showing up in print...
Busman’s holiday is time off spent doing something closely related to one’s work, not necessarily clocking in on a day off. Tracy in Pleasanton, California, remembers using it to describe her father, who worked for TWA at San Francisco airport and...
Downton Abbey, a program featured on Masterpiece Theater, provided a handful of colorful expressions that date surprisingly far back. “Like it or lump it,” meaning “deal with it,” is found at least as early as 1830 and takes...
A listener remembers her mother used to say, “Your Monday is longer than your Tuesday.” This phrase offered a subtle way to notify someone that her slip was showing. Other expressions convey that warning as well, including “Monday...