She sells seashells by the seashore. Who is the she in this tongue twister? Some claim it’s the young Mary Anning, who went on to become a famous 19th-century British paleontologist. Dubious perhaps, but the story of her rise from seaside...
Barbara from Seattle, Washington, was surprised to hear a friend from Montana use the term jockey box to mean “glove compartment.” Heard in much of the Northwestern United States, jockey box is a relic of the days when the drivers of...
Let’s put the moose on the table: You have questions, and Grant and Martha have answers. For example, why would someone have an albatross around the neck? And what’s so cool about bees’ knees, anyway? Plus, jockey boxes...
A bartender wonders about the origin of the term jockey box. In his world, a jockey box is a metal container for ice. However, in some parts of the western U.S., a jockey box is the glove compartment of a car, and much earlier, the term referred to...
bug n.— «Now that Ms. Studart is no longer an apprentice, her prospects for rides are unclear, especially with more experienced jockeys coming to New York for the summer season. Trainers tend to favor apprentices—nicknamed “bugs” for the...
Moonbats and wingnuts and sleepovers, oh my! Martha and Grant discuss political slang making the rounds during this election year. Also: Is it duct tape or duck tape? And what are you supposed to put in a jockey box?