Quiz Guy John Chaneski has been pondering the -ly often found at the of adverbs, and that inspired him to craft a puzzle about words that seem to be adverbs, but aren’t. For example, what fake adverb is suggested by this clue: Like a sudden charge...
Nate in Tucson, Arizona, says his grandmother from Nova Scotia used to express surprise with the exclamation dear me suz! It goes back to the 1820s and is likely a form of dear me, sirs! Variants include suz alive, law me suz, oh suz alive, and law...
Bob from Mount Airy, North Carolina, says that while growing up in Michigan, he and others said Brr! in cold weather. But where he lives now, he often hears people exclaim Oosh! As noted in Gratitude for Shoes: Growing up Poor in the Smokies...
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...
Dana in Reno, Nevada, wants a word for that moment when you’re playing cards or a board game and you draw what would have been the perfect card or tile for the previous turn you played. She suggests post-perfect pickup. Might there be others? Maybe...
Ken in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, wonders about the use of a couple of interjections. Why don’t people begin sentences with the word Say any more? And is it impolite to start a sentence with Hey? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
