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...
Have you lived in your home so long that you don’t notice its flaws? In Sweden, they have a name for this condition: It’s hemmablind—literally, “home blind.” A popular Swedish TV program shows what you can do about it. Plus, unlocking the mysterious...
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...
Jacob in Dallas, Texas, remembers his grandfather used to talk about someone having a come-apart, meaning “having a breakdown” or “freaking out.” It’s not a common phrase, but it’s widespread enough that it...
A young woman wants a family-friendly way to describe a statement that’s fraudulent or bogus, but all the words she can think of sound old-fashioned. Is there a better term than malarkey, poppycock, or rubbish? Also, listeners step up to help...
Vanita from Dallas grew up in India calling the table container for salt and pepper a salt-and-pepper cellar, where many Americans would say salt-and-pepper shaker. A saltcellar (yes, usually spelled as one word with no space) is a vessel for salt...