A listener in Honolulu, Hawaii, wonders about an expression used by her husband’s grandmother, who was from eastern Kentucky: “He left so fast, that you could have played marbles on his coattails.” The notion that a person is running so fast his...
Cain from Dublin, Ireland, wonders why sportscasters in his country often say a team’s at sixes and sevens when they’re looking disorganized or nonplussed. The leading theory suggests that sixes and sevens, primarily heard in the United Kingdom...
Hudson River alligator n.— «The quaint wooden pilings you see at the edge of Manhattan, the ones that trace the outlines of long-gone piers, are a hazard in the making. When a storm knocks one of them loose, the resultant floater—a “Hudson River...
show me run n.— «“We have what is called a show me run, where our lead plane pilot (in a smaller plane) shows us where he wants us to drop,” Colonel Barkdull said. “He describes the start point and where he wants the line to run, and advises us on...
stunter n.— Note: This term is familiar to anyone who remembers the Icy Hot Stuntaz Internet meme. «In squad cars and on powerful BMW motorcycles of their own, these officers go after what they regard as a growing problem on the nation’s...
whoop-de-do n.— «They will race about 100 yards before funneling into a tight turn, followed by five jumps, a water hazard, mud pit, several sand traps and dozens of “whoop-de-do” cross-grain ruts.» —“45,000 To Watch Motocross In Coliseum...