In some British dialects, the word cackemander means “friend.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Cackemander” Heterological nouns are nouns that sort of don’t sound like what they are. Heterological meaning other word or other...
The editors of the Oxford English Dictionary recently added several Irish English terms. One of them is segotia, which means “friend.” There’s an entry for this word, also spelled segocia, in Grant’s own book, The Official Dictionary of Unofficial...
John, a Navy veteran in San Diego, California, shares some pranks played on new recruits. One involves sending a newbie to the boatswain’s locker for ten yards of gig line. In military jargon, a gig line is the imaginary line from the middle of...
You know when you’re waiting behind other cars to make a left turn at a traffic light but the pokey driver ahead of you is so inattentive (On their cell phone? Daydreaming? Shaving? Taking a nap?) that you end up having to sit through another red...
A caller from Los Angeles, California, wonders why we say “hang a Roscoe” for “turn right” when giving directions. This phrase, as well as “hang a Louie,” meaning “turn left,” go back at least as far as the 1960’s. These expressions are much like...
If you’re on tenterhooks, it means you’re in a state of anxious anticipation or suspense. But what IS a tenterhook? The answer goes back to a 15th-century manufacturing process. Also, you probably have a term for those crumbs that collect in the...