When someone admiringly called a woman “outspoken,” Dorothy Parker is said to have cynically replied, “Outspoken by whom?” Well, according to quoteinvestigator.com, the line pre-dates Parker’s quip. This is part of a...
What is a madcap comedy? A fan of classics like Bringing up Baby wonders about the origin of the term. Martha explains that years ago, the word cap sometimes referred to one’s “head.” So if someone’s “madcap,”...
In Mandarin Chinese, if you’re “big red and big purple,” it means you’re “famous and popular.” This is part of a complete episode.
Some foreign idioms involving color have been adopted whole into English. A case in point: French bête noire. Literally, it means “black beast,” and it’s used figuratively now in English to mean anything particularly disliked or...
Are the names Aaron and Erin pronounced the same? A bicoastal listener insists they should sound different. A longer discussion about Erin vs. Aaron is on the Straight Dope message board. This is part of a complete episode.
“Too much sugar for a dime” can mean either “too good to be true,” or “more trouble than it’s worth.” Merle Travis and Judy Hayden sing about it. This is part of a complete episode.