Awfully might seem like an awful choice for a positive adverb, as in awfully talented, but it makes sense given the history of awful. Once intended to mean “filled with awe,” it’s now a general intensifier. The process of semantic weakening has...
The modifier lamming or lammin’, is used as an intensifier, as in “That container is lammin’ full,” meaning “That container is extremely full.” There’s a whole class of intensifying words like this in English, which have to do with the idea of...
An Indianapolis listener has a copy of a wedding poem that refers to the thrice-happy pair. Is a thrice-happy pair three times as happy as anyone else? Martha explains that the idea goes all the way back to Roman poetry. Here’s an example from...
“I literally exploded with rage!” Using the word literally in this way grates on many a stickler’s ear. Moreover, if it’s okay to use the word “literally” figuratively, then what do you say when you actually do...
If people are on warmly congenial terms, they’re said to “get on like a house on fire.” Yet an Irishwoman says when she uses this expression in the U.S., she often gets puzzled looks. Is the expression that unusual? This is part of...
Remember when Bugs Bunny used to say, “Now wait just a cotton-pickin’ minute!”? A caller wants to know if cotton-pickin’ has racist overtones. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Cotton-Pickin'”...