Welcome to another newsletter from A Way with Words. Over the weekend we talked more about political language, "hair of the dog," "a fish rots from the head down," and "pareidolia." We also posted another language...
Feel like having a little “hair of the dog”? Grant and Martha explain what dog hair has to do with hangover cures. And what do you call it when random objects form a recognizable image, like a cloud resembling a bunny, or the image of Elvis in...
“A fish stinks from the head down.” When an Indianapolis woman is quoted saying that, she’s accused of calling someone a stinky fish. She says she wasn’t speaking literally, insisting that this is a turn of phrase that means...
trucking n.— «Investigations late last year found the commercial boats had been fishing off one part of Stewart Island and then reporting the catch as having been made in another area. The ministry says its analysis of the first...
fish pedicure n.— «State regulators have banned a trendy type of spa procedure known as a “fish pedicure,” in which the spa patron places his or her feet into a bowl filled with fish, and the fish eat the dead skin and...
doodlesocking n.— «Spawning crappie are easily frightened by noisy movements, so approach shallow fishing spots quietly. Some anglers use 10-foot rods equipped with short lines, wading and dipping the lure in a technique known as...