Brianna from Jacksonville, Florida, says her family and friends call someone who’s causing a scene or acting foolish a weapon. A blunder or awkward moment is weaponry. The usage, which she picked up from her dad, who’s from Long Island, New...
Arthur in New Bern, North Carolina, wonders why we say something that isn’t difficult is as easy as pie when making a pie is a whole lot of work. This phrase most likely refers to the ease of eating a pie, not making one. This is part of a...
Paul in Centerville, Massachusetts, says his parents, who hail from Brooklyn, New York, always referred to a fire hydrant as a Johnny pump. This term is largely confined to New York City, and may derive from the fact that these sources of water were...
We’ve talked before about surprising local pronunciations of things like towns or streets. A term or pronunciation that distinguishes locals from outsiders is called a shibboleth. The word derives from the biblical story of the warring...
A woman in Hudson, New York, says her boyfriend, who grew up on Long Island, uses the expression call out sick, meaning “to phone an employer to say you’re not coming to work because you’re ill.” But she uses the phrase call...
The organization Historic Hudson Valley describes the African-American celebration of Pinkster in an exemplary way. It avoids the use of the word slave and instead uses terms such as enslaved people, enslaved Africans, and captives. It’s a...