Joe from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, asks about pony, the term he and his fellow maritime academy students used to mean “a practice test” or “a copy of a previous test” to help them crib for an exam. Among 19th-century British students, the slang term...
Someone who’s being rude or pushy might be said to “have more nerves than a cranberry merchant.” This idiom is probably a variation on the phrase “busier than a cranberry merchant in November,” which relates to the...
A lagniappe is a little something extra that a merchant might toss in for a customer, like a complimentary ball-point pen. What’s the origin of that word? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Lagniappe” Hi, you have A...
Someone who’s extremely busy may be said to be “busier than a cranberry merchant.” What is it that keeps cranberry merchants so busy, anyway? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Busier than a Cranberry...
ratchet n.— «As another employee approached with the bat, the man left and said, “I’ll be back before you close and next time I’m coming through with the ratchet,” which the employees understood as slang for a handgun...
shoobie n.— «It’s not the people, perhaps, that we’re so concerned about who start fishing in March or April and continue to fish into late November, Rather, it’s the little folks, “shoobies” as we refer to them, who perhaps...
