Barb in Omaha, Nebraska, heard a Thanksgiving guest praise the turkey tail as the bishop’s nose, the fatty little bump at the bird’s rear. The older name is the pope’s nose, known since the 18th century. Later clerical cousins include bishop’s nose...
Why say goodbye when you could drop the phrase see you in church if the window’s open? This joke about lousy churchgoers is a colorful variant of see you when I see you. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “See You in...
Adam in Indianapolis grew up with his grandmother’s warning not to split a pole, meaning that two companions shouldn’t pass on opposite sides of a lamppost, mailbox, or other street obstacle. The idea is that the physical separation hints at an...
This week: whether cotton-pickin’ is racist, unintentionally funny headlines, whether enormity can simply mean “enormous,” how a person can be “such a pill,” and pandiculation. “It’s good stuff, Maynard...
This week, McGimpers, geetus, and other underworld lingo from the 1930s. Crime novelist James Ellroy stops by to talk slang terms and reveals his own favorite. Also, is the expression “Hear, hear!” or “Here, here!”? Is it...
Do you say something happened on accident or by accident? Is text-messaging destroying our kids’ writing ability? Where do horseradish, zarf, and ignoramus come from?
