Finnie, as in I finnie that, is an old expression used to claim something. The term may have arisen from the use of the word fen in the children’s game of marbles, referring to the idea of the fending or making up a rule that defends an action or...
The advice keep your dauber up or keep your dobber up is intended to encourage someone who’s feeling dejected or discouraged. It may come from the game of marbles, where a dobber is the largest marble in a game. This is part of a complete episode...
A wingnut is a handy, stabilizing piece of hardware. So why is it a pejorative term for those of a certain political persuasion? Also, is there something wrong with the phrase committed suicide? Some say that the word commit is a painful reminder...
A listener in Carmel, New York, remembers his father’s phrase knuckle down, screw bony tight, a challenge called out to someone particularly adept at playing marbles. The game of marbles, once wildly popular in the United States, is a rich source of...
A listener in Honolulu, Hawaii, wonders about an expression used by her husband’s grandmother, who was from eastern Kentucky: “He left so fast, that you could have played marbles on his coattails.” The notion that a person is running so fast his...
When you were a child and wanted to lay claim to something, what did you say? Did you call “dibs”? Or “hosey” it? A caller is curious about another verb used in such situations: “finnie.” Grant explains this word’s meaning and origin. Transcript of...