The word budget derives from French bougette, “leather bag.” An old phrase in English to open one’s budget, meant “to speak one’s mind.” The word purse is related to French bourse, a word for the stock market. This is part of a complete episode...
Laura in San Antonio, Texas, says her handsome father describes himself as a fine piece of leather, well put together. This phrase is probably a reference to a fine leather shoe and the artistry it takes to put it together. For years, shoe companies...
When flight attendants use the terms feather, leather, or fin, they’re talking about “chicken, beef, or fish.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “In-Flight Lingo” Here’s another bit of airline slang. Feather leather fin. Feather...
Now that the Encyclopedia Britannica is going to an online-only format, one of many things we’ll miss is the accidental poetry on the books’ spines. In the age of endless digital information, volumes like Accounting-Architecture and Birds-Chess...
A Wyoming native asks about the origin of her father’s term of approbation, good leather. Grant thinks it might be from baseball, where good leather means “good fielding with a leather ball in a leather glove.” This is part of a complete episode...
zhing-zhong n.— «A deluge of cheap counterfeits, nicknamed “zhing-zhongs,” imported mainly from Asia, has threatened the viability of the country’s leather industry.» —“Save Us From ‘Zhing-Zhongs,’ Say Leather Industry Players” Financial...