Mindy from Crescent, Iowa, grew up hearing about Herman, the son of her mother’s fearsome great aunt Julia, referred to as the woods colt. That phrase is a euphemism for “a child born out of wedlock.” Mindy’s mother said there was a man thought to...
“Cornbread,” a poem by Kentucky writer Silas House, is thick with sensory memories of Appalachian cooking and family: scooping cornmeal by hand and “the splash of egg, the gallop of buttermilk.” The poet recalls his mother cooking after work, the...
The word pobbies refers to a warm mixture of milk, bread, and sugar that British mothers traditionally gave children to fill them up or soothe them when they were unwell. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Have Some Pobbies for...
Next time you stub your toe, try letting loose with a Bandoozer! Sarah from Elk Rapids, Michigan, says her grandparents invented a fake swear word bandoozer to give kids the thrill of naughtiness without any real harm. Bandoozer doesn’t appear...
Chrissie in Arlington, Virginia, has fond memories of her family playing bridge together. Whenever a trick with four cards that included an ace, a two card, a three card, and a four card was played, her grandmother would chuckle and say, Ace, two...
Michelle in Williamsburg, Virginia, wonders about the origin of alley-oop!, which she says when hoisting her toddler. It’s from French allez, the imperative of aller meaning “to go” and houp or hop, an onomatopoeic utterance made while expending...
