James from San Antonio, Texas, grew up saying he hadn’t seen someone in a coon’s age, meaning in a very long time. The phrase likely refers to the old folk notion that raccoons live a long time, but because the shortened word has a long history as a...
After she added to his unusual collection of photos of relatives riding camels, Douglas in Thomasville, Georgia, wonders whether his brother’s granddaughter is his great-niece or his grandniece. Both terms are widely acceptable for that relationship...
What would you bring to a pitch-in? An Indiana transplant shares this newly acquired term for a potluck dinner. Martha points out that the Dictionary of American Regional English has a map showing the distribution of the term, and it’s limited...
Death of the Typewriter Ding! In this week’s episode, Mark Twain would be pleased. Reports that it’s the end of the line for the typewriter have been greatly exaggerated. Well, slightly anyway: it’s not the horseless carriage return yet. Martha and...
