This week, it’s the language of politics. Martha and Grant discuss two handy terms describing politicians: far center and snollygoster. Also, a presidential word puzzle, false friends, spendthrifts, and a long list of 17th-century insults. So...
Beware of false friends, those words that don’t translate the way you’d expect. For example, the word “gift” in German means “poison,” and the Spanish word “tuna” means “the fruit of the prickly...
A Slang This! contestant guesses at the meaning of the slang terms faux po and pole tax. This is part of a complete episode.
manu militari n.— «Le Pen, 78, was first out of the box. During a candidates’ forum last week in Paris organized by Elle magazine, Le Pen, who describes himself as antiabortion, said he opposed the free distribution of condoms in schools...
faux chateau n.— «Whether you call them by the pejorative moniker McMansions or more whimsical names such as Faux Chateaux or Starter Castles, super-sized houses are here—soon to be followed by negative impacts, according to...
starter castle n.— «Whether you call them by the pejorative moniker McMansions or more whimsical names such as Faux Chateaux or Starter Castles, super-sized houses are here—soon to be followed by negative impacts, according to...