What does dog hair have to do with hangover cures? Also, where’d we ever get a word like “dude”? And what’s the word for when unexpected objects form a recognizable image, like a cloud that looks like a bunny, or the image of Elvis...
Grand Bargain n.— «The harder part will be trying to follow that up by creating what is coming to be known in Obama circles as a Grand Bargain: getting everyone to agree to clean up the nation’s budget mess in a really big way, one that...
Hello, guys and dolls--it's another newsletter from A Way with Words. We aired an episode this past weekend in which we talked about the footwear known as "go-aheads," what part of the body is "possible,"...
Feel like having a little “hair of the dog”? Grant and Martha explain what dog hair has to do with hangover cures. And what do you call it when random objects form a recognizable image, like a cloud resembling a bunny, or the image of Elvis in...
At Murray’s Cheese in Grand Central Station, the workers who sell cheese are called cheesemongers. The store’s opening up a new section to sell cold cuts, and workers there are looking for more appetizing term than meatmonger. (Meat-R...
pass-back n.— «In the past, Spa GP had used paper tickets, which had to be visually checked by stadium employees as ticket-holders arrived. This process often led to long queues as visitors entered the stadium. Spa GP had also struggled...