Julie from Jacksonville, Florida, shares a lovely story of her husband’s increasing use of the word Ta-da! In lieu of other words or to point out a success. Ta-da! references the sound of a musical flourish, such as that of a trumpet. This is...
Kathy in Jacksonville, North Carolina, likes to urge her kids to go outside and play, but is searching for a word or phrase that denotes “the out of doors” without referencing an edifice. Some possibilities: al fresco from Italian, for...
Hello and happy Ides of March! On this week's show, the topic was wedgie technique, specifically the difference between a "murphy" and a "melvin." We also talked about the origin of "mad props," the uses of...
whip-out n.— «Fred Smith, founder and chief executive officer of Memphis-based Federal Express, is the name that comes to everyone’s lips when asked what advantage the city has in the race for an NFL expansion team. “Fred has said...
tote the note v. phr.— «Fred Smith, founder and chief executive officer of Memphis-based Federal Express, is the name that comes to everyone’s lips when asked what advantage the city has in the race for an NFL expansion team. “Fred...
competitive food n.— «Candy bars, soda, other sugary drinks, chips and cookies are called “competitive foods” because they are sold in competition with meals partly subsidized through the National School Lunch and Breakfast...