In Cantabrigian tradition, a wooden spoon was jokingly awarded to low achievers in mathematics. That practice later extended to other types of competitions. It’s also key to a heartwarming story about a charitable organization that arose from...
The origin of “the whole shebang,” meaning “the whole thing,” is somewhat mysterious. It may derive from an Irish word, shabeen, which meant “a disreputable drinking establishment,” then expanded to denote other...
Growing up in Jamaica, a woman used to hear her fashion-designer mother invoke this phrase to indicate that something was good enough, even if it was flawed: “A man on a galloping horse wouldn’t see it.” Variations include...
A mobile-phoney, as defined by the Irish rail system’s new ad campaign, is someone on a train who pretends to be having a phone conversation in order to prevent fellow passengers from taking the seat next to them. This is part of a complete...
If you’re the type of person who wants so badly to sit alone on a train that you have strategies for deterring other passengers from taking the seat next to yours, the Irish train system is onto you. Irish Rail’s #GiveUpYourSeat campaign...
A Washington, D.C., caller says her dad would console her with the saying “Don’t worry, it will be better before you’re married.” Which is really less a heartfelt consolation than it is a better way to say, get over it. The...