A San Diego caller wonders about the expression a-gogo, as in the name of a local restaurant, Hash House A Go Go. Where’d it come from? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “A-GoGo” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi...
A Wellesley College student has been reading about the Victorian fear of being buried alive—also known as taphophobia—and the bizarre 19th-century burial practices associated with it. She’s heard that they gave rise to such expressions as dead...
Lots of things happening in Language Land these days! First, we were amused by the New York Times’ blog post titled, “Iceland Volcano Spews Consonants and Vowels.” We’ll say! Speaking of the word “blog,” Grant is...
David from Greenwich, Connecticut, asks about “fish or cut bait,” an idiom used when someone needs to make a choice rather than keep stalling. One interpretation treats “cut bait” as quitting fishing altogether and moving on to something else...
It’ll never be seen on a galloping horse is a handy answer to tiny flaws in sewing or quilting: from a moving horse, nobody will notice the mismatched plaid or crooked stitch. Debbie in San Diego grew up hearing her seamstress mother’s family...
The phrases “Well, I swan!” and “Well, I swannee!” are genteel substitutes for swearing. Where do those phrases come from? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “I Swannee!” Hello, you have A Way with...