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Nicknames Give Me the Heebie-Jeebies

Everybody has a nickname, and there’s usually a story to go with it. Martha and Grant reveal their own nicknames and the stories behind them. Also, is the expression “heebie-jeebies” anti-Semitic? And is there a better word than...

Spot the Fake Slang

In this week’s installment of Slang This!, a member of the National Puzzlers League tries to separate the real slang terms from the fake ones. Try this one: Which of the following expressions really is a British synonym for the willies, the...

Nicknames in the Newsletter

How-do, neighbor! It’s another issue of the A Way with Words newsletter. This past weekend's show was a brand-new treat, stuffed full of chewy language goodness. We talked about "the vapors," whether...

Heebie-Jeebies

A cantor from a synagogue in Nyack, New York, says she’s fond of the expression “the heebie-jeebies” but recently began worrying that it might be anti-Semitic. Did the term “heebie-jeebies” originate as a slur against...

ibby-jibbies

ibby-jibbies  n.— Note: A variant of “heeby-jeebies.” «Now, personally I’ve always had the ibby-jibbies about putting my amphibians in my refrigerator, for fear of killing them.» —“Re: toads” by Michael R...

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