Eric in Tucson, Arizona, hears He’s walking in tall cotton from his wife and wonders what it means. The phrase means things are going well. Tall cotton signals a bumper cotton crop, so farmers who found themselves in it could expect a...
We spoke with a listener about the German word querfeldein, or literally “diagonally into the field,” which he used to describe an informal route he and his wife had taken while out for a walk. Many other listeners chimed in with...
Nerd used to be a term of derision, connoting someone who was socially awkward and obsessed with a narrow field of interest. Now it’s used more admiringly for anyone who has a passion for a particular topic. Linguists call that type of...
Beast means something like awesome or cool among fifth and sixth graders. Elaine, a speech therapist at a school in Indianapolis, called to share that her students say that is so beast and I beasted that. The verb form has appeared in college slang...
How do you say “not my problem”? A listener shares his go-to: Not my pig, not my farm. It means the same thing as “I don’t have a horse in that race,” or “I don’t have a dog in that fight.” Douglas...
You know those dull sports clichés like “We came to play” and “He left it all on the field”? They’re called bromides. The hosts explain the connection between the tired platitude and the sedative called potassium...