Our conversation about the term bear-caught, describing someone with heatstroke, prompted Sondra in Florida to share a poem on the topic written years ago by her late husband, Bert Furbee. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
Andrea in Haslett, Michigan, and her six-year-old daughter Neevee had a question about the way we show love in writing. When they were texting back and forth with Neevee’s daddy, she got to wondering where where we get X and O for kisses and hugs...
triple n.— «There is so much hugging at Pascack Hills High School in Montvale, N.J., that students have broken down the hugs by type: […] There’s the shake and lean; the hug from behind; and, the newest addition, the triple —...
bear claw n.— «There is so much hugging at Pascack Hills High School in Montvale, N.J., that students have broken down the hugs by type: There is the basic friend hug, probably the most popular, and the bear hug, of course. But now there...
This week, we’re going through the e-mail bag. Here’s a savory, sensuous one. It’s from Stacey in Boulder, Colorado.
bunny hug n.— «It shares its name with a dance move from 1912, and was once also called a “cotton popover” and a “kangaroo sweatshirt.” What the majority of the English-speaking world refers to as the hooded...

