Eric from Harrisonburg, Virginia, wants to know: What’s the origin of footloose and fancy-free, which describes someone unencumbered by obligations or worries? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Footloose and Fancy...
When Julia emigrated to New York City from the Dominican Republic, she noticed that her Jewish friends on Long Island often playfully altered words, repeating a word and adding an SHM sound, such as changing deserve to deserve, schmeserve and cool...
A wingnut is a handy, stabilizing piece of hardware. So why is it a pejorative term for those of a certain political persuasion? Also, is there something wrong with the phrase committed suicide? Some say that the word commit is a painful reminder...
Singultus, which comes from a Latin word for “sobbing” or “dying breath,” is a fancy way of describing a not-so-fancy affliction: the hiccups. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Singultus” If you...
You’ve been on the receiving end of backhanded phrases, and admit it, you’ve used them, too. A discussion on Ask MetaFilter prompts Grant and Martha to talk about the ways people use sugar-coated snark. By the way, if you want a fancy...
sushi index n.— «There’s something called the sushi index.…The Americans are eating less fancy-fancy because they are screwed for the dollars.» —“Snapshots From Today’s Israel” by Mireille Silcoff National...