Cathy from San Antonio, Texas, notes that many Spanish words come from the Nahuatl language, including the words for “tomato,” “sweet potato,” and “avocado,” which are tomate, camote, and aguacate, respectively...
Creature comforts, meaning “material comforts,” may sound like a newfangled term, but it goes back at least as far as the 1640s. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Those Old Familiar Creature Comforts” The...
If you’re happy as a boarding house pup, you’re elated indeed. Food in a boardinghouse can’t compare with home-cooked meals, which works to the advantage of a canine waiting around to be tossed some scraps. This is part of a...
A listener who grew up in Ukraine recalls that her family always referred to chicken drumsticks by a name that translates as Bush’s legs. This jocular term refers to an agreement between U.S. President George H.W. Bush and Soviet leader...
Niesey from Laramie, Wyoming, is curious about the word mucky-muck, meaning “an important person,” and often “someone self-important.” Usually spelled muckety-muck, or muckamuck, it’s associated with the Chinook jargon of the Pacific Northwest, in...
Sarah from Dallas called us years ago to talk about the word preheat. Now newly married, she and her Russian husband have a friendly dispute over this question: “What is a sandwich?” We gingerly wade into the longstanding cultural debate...