How and why do words from one language find their way into another? Vietnamese, for instance, includes lots of words borrowed or adapted from French. Such linguistic mixing often happens when languages brush up against each other and speakers reach...
Lee in Charleston, South Carolina, remembers her dad used to refer to a blue patch of sky after a rain as kitten’s britches. Similar terms include Dutchman’s trousers, old woman’s apron, and cat’s vest, all suggesting that small but promising bit of...