A listener has been baffled for years by a riddle told a German friend. It goes, “What’s the difference between a frog? Answer: The greener it is, the faster it swims.” It’s an example of an antiwitz or “anti...
The translation of one silly German antiwitz joke begins, “Two thick feet are crossing the street…” Another starts, “Two skyscrapers are sitting in the basement knitting…” They go downhill from there. This is part...
The German antiwitz, or anti-joke, sidesteps the machinery of an ordinary punchline. In one goofy specimen, two muffins are sitting in an oven. When one complains, “Man, it’s hot in here,” the other blurts, “Oh, my God, a talking muffin!” This is...
A wingnut is a handy, stabilizing piece of hardware. So why is it a pejorative term for those of a certain political persuasion? Also, is there something wrong with the phrase committed suicide? Some say that the word commit is a painful reminder...
A man in Red Lodge, Montana, says he and his wife sometimes accuse each other of being a sneaky pete. It’s an affectionate expression they use if, say, one of them played a practical joke on the other. The origin of this term is uncertain...
Our discussion about grammagrams prompts listeners to send in several more stories from their workplaces. A high-school drama teacher in Arlington, Texas, reports that in the theater world, the letter Q is scribbled in scripts to mean cue. A...