A caller in Hamburg, Germany, wants to know where we got the term laundry list. Grant explains that it derives from a time when people of a certain class sent their laundry out to be cleaned. It’s usually associated with a collection of things...
Why are some book titles so incredibly long? A caller complains about book-title inflation, usually consisting of a shorter title followed by a colon and a longer subtitle that seems to sound important and ends with the words “and What To Do...
Ever drop a reference that just makes you sound, well, of a certain age? Grant and Martha discuss language that’s lost on other generations. Why is the entree the main course? Shouldn’t it come first? And why is the letter k silent in...
Grant and Martha share some more terms that make a person sound old-fashioned these days. Ever get a blank stare when you mention the icebox? This is part of a complete episode.
What’s the difference between done and finished? If you’ve completed something, are you done? Or are you finished? Grant and Martha contend that there’s no historical evidence to suggest a difference between the two, although...
Queridos amigos, we have two brand-new episodes to share! On the air this past weekend we debated, among many other things, whether there was a difference in meaning between gray and grey. Martha insists that there is and she’s not the only...