A cumshaw artist is that clever, resourceful person in a military unit who always seems to manage to procure whatever’s needed. This term apparently derives from similar-sounding words in Mandarin, kan hsieh, or kam-si?, in the language spoken...
Pickthank is an archaic, literary word for a person who curries favor by informing against someone else. The term goes back at least to 1460. Noah Webster defined a pick-thank as “a whispering parasite” or “an officious fellow.” It overlaps with...
A listener reports being puzzled by a phrase she heard from a woman for whom she’d done a small favor: Did you think you’d taken me to raise? Heard mainly in Kentucky and Ohio, this phrase is a joking suggestion that the person who has...
Why, when someone’s unhappy about something, do we say someone’s nose is out of joint or out of socket? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Nose Out of Joint” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Oh, this is Scott...
You dream of writing the great American novel, but to make ends meet, you spend your days writing boring corporate reports. There’s a difference between writing for love and writing for a living — or is there? Does a heyday have anything to do...
To spit someone a big is to do someone a favor. Try that one out on your boss! This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of ““Spit Someone a Big” Idiom” A little low-level slang for you, Martha. Low-level? Well, it’s safe...