A listener remembers her grandmother’s colorful comment when someone arrived late after getting lost: You went around your elbow to get to your thumb. Lots of similar sayings in English suggest roundabout routes or overcomplicated tasks, including...
Sylvia in Bismarck, North Dakota, has fond memories of churning homemade ice cream with her family. When one family member offers to take over the task from another, they might say Want me to spell you? or Want me to spell you off? Both these...
When a musician is woodshedding a passage of music, they’re trying to master that part by repeatedly practicing it in private, as if having retreated to do so in a woodshed, away from others who might be bothered by it. This is part of a...
Katie in Greenville, South Carolina, reports that when she was growing up in rural Montana, if one of her classmates was caught doing something wrong or reprimanded by a teacher, the rest of the children would say a ver, drawing out the syllables...
MaryAnne from Dallas, Texas, says that sometimes when she or her siblings asked her father how much he spent on something he’d answer A buck three-eighty. It’s one of many similar expressions that allow the speaker to give an approximate...
Larry from Sparks, Georgia, wonders why television announcers and newscasters say welcome back! after a commercial when he, the viewer, didn’t go anywhere. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Why Do Television Shows...
