A Kentuckian says he always described gunning a car’s engine to make the vehicle spin in a circle as cutting doughnuts or cutting donuts, but when visiting South Dakota, he heard the same thing described as spinning cookies. This pastime goes by...
Following up on our conversation about terms for “weak coffee,” a listener in Mexico reports that there, such a beverage is sometimes called agua de calcetín or “sock water.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Agua De Calcetín”...
Carlos in Augusta, Kentucky, says that in Cuba, when it was raining while the sun was still shining, he used to hear people say la hija del diablo se está casando, or literally, “the devil’s daughter is getting married.” A friend from Alabama told...
In Spanish, you can have a siesta, or mid-day nap, but it’s also possible to take un coyotito, literally, “a little coyote,” a slang term for sneaking in a quick snooze, much like a nocturnal coyote curling up for some sleep during the day. This is...
The Spanish word moco, or “mucus,” can be applied affectionately to a child, much like speakers of English may refer to a youngster as a little booger. In some dialects, moco has a more pejorative sense, suggesting a child is more along the lines of...
A San Antonio, Texas, listener recalls hearing the term las caniculas to denote a period of 12 days in January where the weather seems to run the gamut of all the kinds of weather that will be experienced in the coming year. This period is also...