In Japan, if you want to order a corndog, you ask for an Amerikan doggu (アメリカンドッグ). These types of coinages are called wasei-eigo, or “Japanese-made English,” and there are lots of them. Plus, there’s an atmospheric optical phenomenon that looks...
A French idiom that means “to sleep in” or “lie around lazily in bed after waking” is faire la grasse matinée, literally to “make the fat morning.” If you fall in love easily, you’re said to have un coeur d’artichaut, or “an artichoke heart.” That...
Kate DiCamillo, the author of many acclaimed books for children, including The Tale of Despereaux (Bookshop|Amazon), Flora & Ulysses (Bookshop|Amazon), and Because of Winn-Dixie (Bookshop|Amazon) believes that writers of children’s books have what...
Fans of vexillology, the study of flags, know that the town of Manacor on the island of Mallorca has a municipal flag that features a visual pun on its name. It’s a drawing of a hand holding a heart, inspired by the Catalan words mà, meaning “hand,”...
During a full solar eclipse you can see the sun’s glowing outer atmosphere, called the corona. In Latin, the term corona means “crown” or “garland.” It’s the source of coronation, as well as the coronary arteries that wreathe the human heart, and...
The multipurpose phrase bless your heart is heard often in the southern United States. Although it sounds polite and solicitous, it often has a cutting edge to it. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “”Bless Your Heart,” A Cutting...