Grant shares a quirklum. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Quirklum” I know what you’re going to say, Martha, when I tell you that I was reading a Scottish etymological dictionary. Oh, aye! But I found a word in...
Barack Obama wants to put people to work building roads and bridges. But how about a federal jobs program for out-of-work writers? Also: why do we call it a flight of wine? How did the haircut called a mullet get its name?
Here’s a riddle: “Nature requires five, custom gives seven, laziness takes nine, and wickedness eleven.” Think you know the answer? You’ll find it in this week’s episode, in which Grant and Martha discuss this and other...
In an earlier episode, the hosts heard from a woman who, as a teenager, was scolded by her grandmother for wearing a skirt that Granny said was almost up to possible. The woman wondered about that phrase’s meaning and origin. Grant shares...
Sketchy, meaning creepy, alarming, or suspicious, probably grew out of older uses such as sketchy details for something unclear or poorly explained, and from colloquial sketchy for insubstantial or imperfect. After our earlier look at the word, Gwen...
Martha is baffled when Grant shares another riddle involving “four stiff standers, two lookers, two crookers, and one switchbox.” Can you figure out the answer? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Guess the Animal...