Holly from Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, is curious about her mother’s use of the phrase Maybe she isn’t pretty to indicate that someone was very pretty indeed. It may be a form of litotes, or ironic negation, as in the case of not bad, which...
Residents of Martha’s Vineyard look forward each year to the arrival of pinkletinks, little frogs that herald the arrival of spring. Elsewhere, they’re called spring peepers, tinkletoes, and pink-winks. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript...
Polly, a library worker in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, wonders about the correct term for the fuzzy puffball atop a warm hat. Is it a tribble or a pompom? The word tribble first appeared in the classic Star Trek episode “The Trouble with...
A Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, listener notes that the word cunning is sometimes used to describe a cute baby. In the 14th century, this adjective had to do with the idea of knowing, and eventually also acquired the meaning of quaint or...
Hey, friends! Since we last emailed you, we’ve aired two new episodes of the show: Lie Like a Rug — Cut a chogi meaning to “take a shortcut,” plus sufficiently suffonsified, make ends meet, belly robber, slang from Albuquerque, gender-neutral...