What’s an appropriate response when someone knocks on your bathroom stall? How about “You can come in, but you can’t sit down!” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Response from Inside the Bathroom...
In parts of Wisconsin, parking garages are called parking ramps. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Parking Garage vs. Parking Ramp” Grant, suppose I’m giving you directions to my office and I say, look for the...
A query letter from SlushPile Hell, the blog of a curmudgeonly literary agent, reads, “Have you ever wished you had represented the author of the Holy Bible and placed it with a publisher?” Erm, sure. This is part of a complete episode...
Skeuomorphs are aesthetic elements of design that no longer correlate with their original function. Computer software is full of skeuomorphs. For example, the save button that we’re all used to is a picture of a floppy disk. But then, who uses...
Greg Pliska’s game Double Definition uses a cryptic-crossword trick: each clue gives two meanings that point to the same word, with no separate wordplay half. A clue such as trim a tree splits neatly in two, and crazy flying mammals works the same...
Who is Boo-Boo the Fool? A listener wonders if this African-American character has any relation the Puerto Rican fool, Juan Bobo. Martha draws a connection to the Spanish term bobo, meaning “fool,” and its Latin root balbus, meaning “stammerer.” The...