Jesse in Gainesville, Florida, says that when he was growing up in Northern Minnesota, he often heard the expression “Oh, for…!”, as in “Oh, for cute!”, “Oh, for nice!”, or “Oh, for dumb!: This idiomatic construction usually expresses judgment, is...
A San Diego, California, listener wonders if the expression far out originally had to do with surfing. This expression describing something excellent or otherwise impressive originated in the world of jazz, where far out suggested the idea of...
A woman who grew up in Albuquerque recalls that when one of her schoolmates got in trouble, she and their peers would say ominously, “Umbers!” This slang term is apparently a hyperlocal version of similarly elongated exclamations like “Maaaaaan!” Or...
Looking for a word that denotes being really excited for someone, but also a little sad? One option is bittersweet, but if you’d like a term that’s not quite so overused, yayboo is taking hold online. The Modern Greek word charmolype translates as...
Bilingual schools can be great for helping children become bilingual, but the best way to fully get there is through complete immersion over a long period of time. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Bilingual Immersion” Hi, you have...
Parents of a toddler may wonder if Uh-oh should count as their child’s first word. Yep, and it’s actually pretty common first word for little kids, since mishaps are things they learn about early on. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
