In Minnesota and some nearby states, the children’s game Duck Duck Goose is known as Duck Duck Gray Duck. This is part of a complete episode.
What is sweet soup? It’s a Wisconsin specialty, made of cherry or raspberry juice mixed with prunes, raisins, and tapioca, and served either warm or cold. This is part of a complete episode.
Whatever the amount might be, “as much food as one’s hand can hold” is how Samuel Johnson defined the luncheon in his 1755 dictionary entry. Over the two centuries since, we’ve seen more than a handful of takes on lunch, and it’s the subject of a...
What do we mean by the expression “not to mince words”? The New York Times’ Paul Krugman often uses this idiom meaning “to be straightforward and blunt.” The verb mince means “to make small,” and is a...
In a previous episode, we came upon a word mystery in a 1947 menu from Jackson, Mississippi, that mentions tang. The mystery has been solved! It wasn’t the drink, and it wasn’t the fish; it was Cudahy Tang, one of over a hundred knockoff...
It’s another A Way with Words newsletter! This past weekend’s episode was a rebroadcast, which we named “Pickles and Ice Cream.” English speakers use those two when they want to compare two things that don’t go well...