After a long run, Angela in Dallas, Texas, remembered her mother’s instruction to wash your granny beads—clean the sweaty dirt that collects in the creases of the neck. The expression is associated especially with the United States South; another...
First-century graffiti. People in ancient times could be just as bawdy and colorful as we are today. To prove it, we found some graffiti written on the walls in the city of Pompeii, and found plenty of sex, arrogance and good old fashioned bathroom...
Kelly in Milwaukee, a former Texas resident, asks whether Mamaw and Papaw for grandparents are especially Texan. They’re not limited to Texas. Forms such as Mamaw, Papaw, Meemaw, Pawpaw, and Peepaw turn up in families across the country, with Mamaw...
When you were small, did you have a favorite blanket? If so, what’d you call it? A woobie? A blankie? A listener says her grandmother called hers an ookoosh, and wonders if the word reflects grandma’s Czech roots. This is part of a...
A woman from Indianapolis is trying to convince her grandmother that it’s okay for restaurant servers to refer to both male and female customers as you guys. Grandma says it’s sexist. Our caller maintains it’s fine, drawing an...
This week, Martha and Grant discuss terms from Australia, including aerial ping-pong, pumpkin squatter, and…kangarooster? They explain the connection between stereotypes and stereos, and why we call the person clearing tables in a restaurant a...