Pianist, singer, songwriter, and activist Nina Simone was one of the most iconic performers of the 20th century, and her song “Young, Gifted, and Black,” became an anthem of the civil rights movement. Children’s book editor Traci N...
Robert from Hamlin, West Virginia, was surprised to while touring with a gospel group to hear Southerners describe an especially good meal as larrupin’ or larruping. The verb larrup means “to strike,” and larruping is one of several...
Younger voices take the lead! Curious kid investigators start us off exploring the medieval origins of XOXO, the surprising “all correct” joke that gave us OK, and the linguistic evolution of words like terrific and vintage. From...
Jeff from Columbus, Indiana, asks about his father’s use of the expression “not one iota” to mean “not one bit.” An iota is the smallest letter in the Greek alphabet, and ancient Greek speakers used the word for something exceedingly tiny. The...
prosperity gospel n.— «Most practice what is known as the “prosperity gospel,” promoting the idea that God will grant financial wealth to faithful followers. Grassley said some of the ministries have complained that their...
witness-mark
n.— «“To the poor is the gospel preached.” They are interwove with the witness-mark of Christianity.» —by Richard Winter Hamilton Sermons (Leeds) , 1846. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)