Greg in Mena, Arkansas, says that when he was learning to be a professional pilot, one of his instructors would say, You thought like Nelly if someone had thought they were doing something correctly, but failed to. Although the phrase is not that...
Generally speaking, the color that’s a blend of black and white is most often spelled gray in the U.S. and grey in the UK, although both spellings existed side by side for many years, and in fact, 18th-century British lexicographer Samuel Johnson...
Mateo in Richmond, Virginia, is curious about a story he heard about the term paper tiger, meaning “something that looks fearsome or ferocious, but is actually flimsy or weak.” It’s not from Tiger, a type of German tank used during World War II...
When reading Geraldine Brooks’s novel March (Bookshop|Amazon), a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, listener noted the author uses both the phrases I held my peace and I would hold my piece referring to the act of refraining from speaking. Which is correct...
MaryAnne from Dallas, Texas, says that sometimes when she or her siblings asked her father how much he spent on something he’d answer A buck three-eighty. It’s one of many similar expressions that allow the speaker to give an approximate answer or...
Randy from Live Oak, Florida, remembers a man in Central Florida who often added a few words to a simple sentence of explanation, usually thing ‘ere or thing like that and all. That might just reflect his own habitual way of speaking. Entertainer...