Ron in Gloverville, South Carolina, wonders about the phrase since hatchet was hammer, which some use to mean “for a long period of time,” as in My family has lived here since hatchet was hammer. Another phrase he’s heard indicating the same thing...
When does a word’s past make it too sensitive to use in the present? In contra dancing, there’s a particular move that dancers traditionally call a gypsy. But there’s a growing recognition that many people find the term gypsy offensive. A group of...
To throw your hat into the room is to ascertain whether someone’s angry with you, perhaps stemming from the idea of tossing your hat in ahead of to see if someone shoots at it. Ronald Reagan used the expression this way when apologizing to Margaret...
fourth point of contact n.— «I am sorry I was in the 1/27th Infantry freezing my “fourth point of contact” on the Big Island when the veterans were in Grenada and Lebanon.» —“Sorry Veteran” by Luis Canales in Seale, Ala. Columbus Ledger...
