Questions from young listeners and conversations about everything from shifting slang to a bizarre cooking technique. Kids ask about how to talk about finding information on the internet, how tartar sauce got its name, and if the expression high and...
Masha in Vergennes, Vermont, says her family uses the word ilk to refer to a variety or type, as in, “What ilk of tree is that?” Is this term is now archaic? This is part of a complete episode.
Sarah from Grove City, Pennsylvania, says her husband had no idea what she meant when she said she wanted to make over him. Besides its other meanings, the verb to make over someone also means to be affectionate towards them. The terms make of and...
Karen from Santa Barbara, California, wonders about the verb to retire. Why doesn’t it mean to tire all over again? The Spanish word for retirement, jubilación, is cognate with the English word jubilation. This is part of a complete episode.
Steve in Bend, Oregon, asks: Does bully pulpit mean what people think it means? Is the bully the same as the bully you might find in a schoolyard? What did Teddy Roosevelt really mean when he said he had a bully pulpit? There’s an old meaning that...
The medical term tragomaschalia means “smelly armpit sweat,” and derives from Greek words that mean “goat armpit.” This is part of a complete episode.