Barbara Kingsolver’s book Demon Copperhead is a retelling of Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield set in today’s Appalachia. Martha shares memories of a long-ago visit to Kingsolver’s family farm in Virginia, where they discussed many of the same...
In the late 19th century, the name willipus-wallipus denoted a legendary monster said to haunt the American South. The term also came to designate “a steamroller” or “any large piece of road equipment.” The term lapslock, popular among fanfic...
Flight crews have a word for colleagues who check into a hotel, slam the door behind them, lock it shut, and don’t re-emerge until checkout time. They’re called slam-clickers. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Slam-Clickers” Grant...
Is it time to replace the expression “the mentally ill”? Some argue the term unfairly stigmatizes a broad range of people. Also, the winter sport of… skitching, which involves snowy roads, leather shoes — and car bumpers. Needless to say, don’t try...
mortal lock n.— Note: A cinch, an odds-on favorite, a guaranteed thing or event. «It is a sure bet—a mortal lock as they say in the business— that if Robespierre was around today, we would be standing knee-deep in decapitations.» —“Five Things: Who...
million-dollar block n.— «He said in the United States they’ve coined a phrase “million-dollar blocks,” clusters of apartments or houses where a million dollars each year is spent sending some people who live there to prison.» —“Lock ’em up? Must...