Cataglottism means French kissing, a word built on a root connected with the tongue. A limerick by Beswan Bird puts it to work with a comic twist involving a beloved cat. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of ““Cataglossism,” an...
You’re at a social gathering and meet someone you’d like to know better. What do you ask to get a real conversation going? Some people lead with “What do you do?,” while others avoid talking about work entirely. Still others...
In the U.S., we say mwah for the kissing noise. In parts of South America, it’s chuik. And for linguists, of course, it’s a bilabial lingual ingressive click. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Writing a Kiss”...
The Western Folklore Journal of 1976 gives us such romantic phrases as “kisses like a cold fish,” “kisses like your brother through a screen,” and “kisses like a wet brick.” This is part of a complete episode...
That thing when someone kisses you so well that your toes curl up? It’s called a foot pop. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Foot Pop” You know when you’re really kissed, I mean good and well, yeah, and your...
A professional auctioneer shares some techniques for creating his mesmerizing, melodious patter. He explains that auctioneers are known as colonels, because colonels in the civil war were assigned with auctioning off captured property. And he warns...

