South African English is a rich mix of Afrikaans, English, and indigenous languages such as Zulu and Xhosa. Martha and Grant discuss some favorite terms from that part of the world, including lekker, diski, and ubuntu. Also, where’d we get the term...
The 2010 winner of the “Best Picture” Oscar has a Seattle woman wondering about the term hurt locker. Ben Zimmer wrote about it recently in his column at the Visual Thesaurus and we talk about it, too. Here’s the searing poem by Brian Turner called...
glue guy n.— «We had a lot of guys in that locker room who were what I like to call “glue guys” and not only was Jeremy a very good player but he was also a “glue guy” and very important to us.…He was one of the guys who held it all together. We...
bro-hawk n.— «Andrews is fine now, same as always, all full of personality, showing off a new haircut in the locker room at the Eagles’ minicamp, a mohawk kind of thing that he insists you refer to as a “bro-hawk.”» —“A Saintly obsession” by Rich...
leave it all on the field v. phr.— «This is my first NFL game.…Hey, I’m going all out. I’m leaving it all on the field this weekend. I’m not taking anything back to the locker room.» —“Saints’ QB picture may clear up after tonight” Baton Rouge...
ditched the line v.— «Yesterday, when the team interrupted its workout for lunch, Jefferies “ditched” in line, prompting a glare from one wronged player, and then took his lunch to his locker.» —“A New Man: Jefferies tries to show he’s really a...
