How do you pronounce the word won? Does it rhyme with sun or Juan? Some people, depending on their regional dialect, may hypercorrect their vowels and pronounce certain words in an unusual way. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
Who is Boo-Boo the Fool? A listener wonders if this African-American character has any relation the Puerto Rican fool, Juan Bobo. Martha draws a connection to the Spanish term bobo, meaning “fool,” and its Latin root balbus, meaning “stammerer”...
south to south adj.—Gloss: arbitrary jargon used at the World Bank to indicate migration from one poor country to another. “South to north” indicates migration from a poor country to a rich one. «There are 74 million “south to south” migrants...
PILOT n.— «The companies—including behemoths like JPMorgan Chase, Pfizer and NBC—have paid a fraction of their normal property tax bill for years through these little-known deals, commonly called PILOTs (Payments in Lieu of Taxes).» —“Deals that...
opera hot n.— «He’s also peppered the 2006-’07 season with big names such as Anna Netrebko and Juan Diego Flórez (whom geeks refer to as “opera hot,” or extremely attractive in comparison to the archetypical Wagnerian fat lady with a viking helmet)...
migra n.— «“People were lured, they were herded by coyotes, hunted by the migras (slang for immigration officers), lured into traps, devoured by labor,” Santa Ana said. “They are beasts of burden, and we have to ferret them out.”» —“Immigration...