Amy in Bozeman, Montana, grew up hearing her parents say “Coventry” on noisy family road trips, meaning “be quiet,” often followed by “and fold your hands.” The family usage may be related to the British expression send to Coventry, meaning “to...
After our conversation about nighttime wakefulness, a Sacramento, California, woman shares the funny story behind the term she and her husband use for that phenomenon: squeegee. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Nighttime...
When something’s blinky, it smells bad enough to make you blink. Spoiled pimento cheese, for example, can be blinky. The origin of blinky is uncertain, although it may derive from on the blink, as in “not working correctly.” This...
The term cheap-john can refer to a miserly fellow, and also to a pawnbroker’s shop. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “The Judge Wants To Spit” You remember when we were talking about that expression, order in the...
A listener says she and her husband called their unborn child “wohube.” What other noms de fetus are there? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Wohube” Every once in a while, Martha, we do a show about family words. We...
Does your family use a special word you’ve never heard anywhere else? A funny name for “the heel of a loaf of bread,” perhaps, or for “visiting relatives who won’t leave.” In this week’s episode, Martha and...