Connie in San Antonio, Texas, has a funny story about a young granddaughter who misunderstood the meaning of the slang term buns, and later announced that she had itchy biscuits. This is part of a complete episode.
Nancy in Dallas, Texas, shares a funny story about a preschooler’s misunderstanding of the expression in the meantime, meaning “in the interim.” The mean in meantime derives from a Latin medius, “in the middle,” the...
After our discussion about altered signs with new meanings, Kitty from Burlington, Vermont, shares a funny story about the letters on the side of a rental truck. This is part of a complete episode.
After our conversation about first names that are also verbs, such as Grant, Bob, and Sue, a university freshman in Laramie, Wyoming, wrote to share a funny story about his dad’s name, Rob. This is part of a complete episode.
Johanna in Munising, Michigan, has a funny story about a childhood misunderstanding. Guitarists sometimes refer to their instrument as an ax. But at least as early as the 1940s, the slang term ax referred to other instruments, including trombones...
Judith in Newbury Park, California, shares a funny story about how she used to mispronounce the word grotesque with three syllables. This term, meaning strange or unnatural or absurdly exaggerated, goes back to Italian grottesca, having to do with...