Why is an exciting event called a barnburner? A real barn on fire can be a spectacular sight, with so many combustible materials inside. Metaphorically, then, a barnburner is a “humdinger” or a “doozy.” There’s also a...
Quiz Guy John Chaneski’s puzzle involves nominative determinism, the hypothesis that people tend to gravitate toward occupations that fit their names. For example, which handsome movie actor, who was twice voted People magazine’s...
The months of September, October, November, and December take their names from Latin words meaning “seven,” “eight,” “nine,” and “ten.” So why don’t their names correspond to where they fall in...
The months September, October, November, and December derive from Latin words that mean “seven,” “eight,” “nine,” and “ten” respectively. So why are they applied to the ninth, tenth, eleventh, and...
When is your golden birthday? It’s when your age and the date match, such as turning 23 years old on the 23rd day of the month. This is part of a complete episode.
Quiz Guy John Chaneski puzzle this week is called “Three and a Match.” The challenge is to figure out three words from a common category—say, nationalities—that go with each of the three clues he mentions. If, for example, three clues...