Quiz Guy John Chaneski came across the term hugger-mugger, which inspired a puzzle with answers that involve two words, each ending in -er. For example, in the past these were attached using a sticky surface, but these days they’re made from...
Kathy from Jamestown, North Dakota, has long used the phrase flat as a flivver to describe something flat. The term flivver dates back to the early 1900s; it originally referred to something that failed, such as a business or theatrical show...
Can you munch frozen yogurt, or does the verb to munch imply that whatever’s being eaten has some crunch or resistance to it? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Can You Munch on Yogurt?” Grant, would you ever say...
A 1904 dialect collection tipped us off to this variation on the idea of going to the land of milk and honey: “Going to find the honey spring and the flitter tree,” flitter being a variant of fritter, as in something fried and delicious...
A quiddler is someone who wastes his energy on trifles. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Quiddler” An old new word that it came across, quiddler. Do you know this one? Quiddler. Oh, I have a lot of quiddlers in my life...
Name developer and language observer Nancy Friedman tweeted this curious tracking notice from UPS: “Your package has experienced an exception.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Tracking Notice Tweet” Grant...