Debbie from Keokuk, Iowa, shares a funny story about her family’s tradition of speed-cleaning the house if guests were coming over. Her mother would declare, “Quick, guys! Whited sepulchre approach!” Her use of the term whited...
The earliest recorded appearance of the phrases a house divided cannot stand and the powers that be occurred in early English translations of the Bible. Although the exact phrase a fly in the ointment isn’t in the Bible, the idea of a dead fly...
Gifts for book lovers: Martha recommends one for lovers of libraries and another for students of Spanish. Grant suggests some enchanting novels for young readers. When it comes to books, though, you can’t always judge them by their original...
For the book lovers on your gift list, Martha recommends, Library: An Unquiet History, by Matthew Battles. For younger readers, Grant suggests C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia series, starting with The Magician’s Nephew. For adults who loved...
A physicist is curious about the term learning curve. He pictures it as a pair of axes. But if that’s the case, what’s X and what’s Y? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Etymology of Learning Curve”...
A caller wonders why some versions of the Lord’s Prayer include the phrase “forgive us our trespasses,” while others substitute the word “debt.”