Quiz Guy John Chaneski’s puzzle requires finding proper names hidden inside phrases. For example, find the masculine moniker is camouflaged within this phrase: the pool I’ve recently drained. This is part of a complete episode...
Jacob in Dallas, Texas, remembers his grandfather used to talk about someone having a come-apart, meaning “having a breakdown” or “freaking out.” It’s not a common phrase, but it’s widespread enough that it...
If you believe that, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you is an English idiom suggesting that the listener is gullible. It’s widespread throughout the United States. On our Facebook group, listeners shared other versions, including one that...
Byron from Norfolk, Virginia, ran across goldbrick in a 1950s military police training film, where it meant someone useless or unreliable. The slang goes back to a 19th-century swindle in which scammers painted lead or other metals gold and sold...
The request Can I pick your brain? can sound like a friendly appeal for advice, expertise, encouragement, or a quick reality check. A Facebook discussion showed how sharply reactions vary: some hear only the figurative meaning, while others picture...
Donna in Ithaca, New York, wonders about the phrase I’ve had the radish, said by someone who’s exhausted or frustrated. It’s commonly heard in Vermont, and may be related to the French phrase je n’ais plus un radis, meaning...