Frederick from Valdosta, Georgia, wonders about the term galley-west. To knock something galley-west means to “knock it into confusion” “send everything in all directions.” In Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Aunt Sally angrily throws a...
A Seattle, Washington, listener wants to know why, when marking time, we say “one Mississippi, two Mississippi,” as opposed to other states or rivers. In the United Kingdom, they’re more likely to say hippopotamus. Some people count instead with the...
How did Nimrod, the name of a mighty hunter and a great grandson of Noah, come to mean a lamebrain idiot? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Nimrod” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi. Hi, who’s this? Hi, this is Kathy. Hi, Kathy...
It’s a common superstition: do not split a pole. That is, if two people are walking down the street, they shouldn’t each walk around a different side of a lamppost, telephone pole, or mailbox. But if they do, there’s a remedy: just say bread and...
In this episode, Martha and Grant honor winners of the Ig Nobel Prizes, those wacky awards for weird academic research, and they help a caller decipher a puzzling word from a personals ad: what does paratereseomaniac mean?
le sigh n. an exaggerated interjection indicating frustration, resignation, yearning, weariness, etc. Editorial Note: Usually written, not spoken. Etymological Note: Usually attributed to the amorous French cartoon skunk Pepe Le Peu in the Looney...
