Where’d we get the expression “mind your p’s and q’s”? A Barcelona native wants help understanding exactly what it means, and shares a few other English idioms that caught her up short. This is part of a complete...
Martha says her recent trip to Barcelona brought to mind a listener’s question about whether the word gaudy has anything to do with the name of the great Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudi. This is part of a complete episode.
For 341 years, the poets laureate of Britain have all been male. That just changed with the appointment of Britain’s new poet laureate, Carol Ann Duffy. Her work has been described as “dealing with the darkest turmoil and the lightest...
Quiz Guy John Chaneski has a quiz called “States of MIND,” in which the answers are words formed by combining the postal abbreviations of states. Try this clue: “A word that refers to your knowledge or intellectual ability. The...
thoughtprint n.— «A thoughtprint is unconscious communication hidden within verbal or written communication. The unconscious mind is communicates constantly and typically hides its messages in verbal or written communication generated by...
highway hypnosis n.— «Even without actually falling asleep, drivers can go for miles in what some experts call “highway hypnosis,” with their reflexes slowed and their judgment impaired.» —“When lack of sleep can...