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Rhyming Jingles

Hurly-burly, helter-skelter, zigzag, shilly-shally— the hosts dish out some claptrap about words like these, otherwise known as reduplications or rhyming jingles. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Rhyming Jingles” Hi, you have A Way...

Etymology of Butterfly

A caller suspects that the word butterfly derives from a reversal of the expression “flutter by.” But is it? Her question leads to a discussion of butterfly behavior and a handy five-letter word that means “caterpillar poop.” This is part of a...