In Southern California, June gloom is the familiar marine layer that rolls in with overcast skies. Jeremy from Long Beach wonders if other places have similarly named weather patterns. Indeed, Southern California also has May gray, no sky July, and...
The winner in the “Vile Puns” category of the 2021 Bulwer-Lytton Contest involves a hoagie shop and a tiny pimento-stuffed object in a long, cheesy sandwich. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Vile Puns”...
Manuel in Fort Worth, Texas, wonders about a phrase he’s heard from his dad and uncles: Cut me a husk, meaning “Give me a break.” The term apparently evolved from slang used by U.S. Marines serving in Vietnam, and HUS, a designation for certain...
Erica from Troy, Tennessee, wonders if the word boondocks, meaning “a remote place” is related to the name of frontier explorer Daniel Boone. Out in the boondocks and out in the boonies, derive from the Tagalog word for...
Tom in Indianapolis, Indiana, remembers hearing Irish pennant in the Marine Corps for a loose thread hanging from a uniform. The term belongs to the category of ethnophaulism, or ethnic slur, alongside expressions such as Irish screwdriver for...
Asher in Burlington, Vermont, grew up wondering why his father jokingly called him a little Gomer. The nickname points to Gomer Pyle, the good-hearted goofball from The Andy Griffith Show who later became a U.S. Marine in his own 1960s sitcom. After...
