Hey there, and welcome to our latest newsletter. Latest Broadcast Did you catch our examination of the phrase like a boss? It comes from hip-hop but was popularized by a parody. In the same episode, we took a look at infra dig and explored old...
Like a boss means doing something with authority, style, or unbothered confidence, as April in Iowa City noticed in Facebook posts and other online chatter. Its internet popularity spiked after Andy Samberg of Saturday Night Live and The Lonely...
In this week's episode, we go from hip-hop to a public television show about the intra- and inter-class conflicts in a British manor house. We also talk about "flupgrades," what you might call it when a software update...
A die-hard Tyler Perry fan is curious about an emphatic expression she’s heard in some of his movies: Hell-to-the-no. What’s up with the extra words? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Hell-to-the-No” Hello...
Hip-hop is high art. If you don’t understand that, you’re missing out on some of the best poetry being created today. Grant talks about the new book by English professor Adam Bradley called Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip-Hop.
“Yo!” Why did people ever start using the word yo! to get someone’s attention? Grant explains that in English there’s mo’ than one yo. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Etymology of Yo”...