A recent fire in Grant’s apartment building has him pondering the role played by fire in English idioms. This is part of a complete episode.
Where’d we get the expression “mind your p’s and q’s”? A Barcelona native wants help understanding exactly what it means, and shares a few other English idioms that caught her up short. This is part of a complete...
Proverbs pack great truths into a few well-chosen words, no matter which language you speak. Check out this one from Belize: “Don’t call the alligator a big-mouth till you have crossed the river.” And this truism from Zanzibar:...
sand spur n.— «In personality profiles newspapers use what some refer to as “sand spurs,” referring to little foibles of the person that show him or her as real, rather than just the subject of PR flackery. In Troutman’s case...
bluebird n.— «Welch got rid of a strategic albratross, got a strategic bluebird, got essentially $1 billion in the hopper, and got out of the consumer electronics business.» —“Roundtable Discussion Audio Video Home...