Our list of words for stingy people just grew longer, thanks to a contribution from Rick in San Antonio, Texas: When he lived in Brazil, he learned the expression mão-de-vaca, literally “hand of a cow” and pão-duro, literally “hard bread.” The...
If you’re having a particularly tough time, you might say that you’re “having a hard fight with a short stick.” The idea is that if you’re defending yourself with a short stick, you’d be at a disadvantage against an opponent with a longer one. This...
A caller with a 25-year-old parrot wonders: How much language do birds really understand? Plus, Knock-knock. Who’s there? Boo. Well… you can guess the rest. But there was a time when these goofy jokes were a brand-new craze sweeping the nation...
A bank teller suffered a brain injury and now sometimes finds it hard to remember simple words. She wants a succinct way to explain to her customers why she’s having difficulty. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “When Words are Hard...
We spoke on the show not long ago about yuppies and dinks, but neglected to mention silks: households with a single income and lots of kids. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Yuppies, Dinks, and Silks” We were talking on an earlier...
What a difference pronunciation makes! The United States has a Department of Defense, and an individual might take classes in self-defense. So why do football and basketball coaches say they’re proud of their . . . “DEE-fence?” Linguists have a...