National Book Award winner Barry Lopez had wise advice for young writers. First, read widely and follow your curiosity. Second, travel or learn a foreign language. And third, find out what you truly believe, because if you’re not writing from...
Funny cat videos and cute online photos inspire equally adorable slang terms we use to talk about them. • Also, when a salamander is not a salamander, the story of an Italian term for a dish towel used halfway across the world, Bozo buttons...
Mondegreens are words misheard in song lyrics that still make a kind of sense, such as misunderstanding Just like a white-winged dove as Just like a one-winged dove. They’re sometimes called oronyms. This is part of a complete episode...
Quiz Guy John Chaneski’s take-off quiz involves removing the initial letter G from a word to leave another word. For example, imagine that John said, “That waiter who put fresh parmesan cheese on my lasagna? I’d give him a 7 or 8...
Sandee from New York City thought that she was the only person who had misunderstood a line from the song “Ladies Who Lunch” from the Stephen Sondheim musical Company, memorably performed on Broadway by Elaine Stritch. Years later...
Rebecca in Seattle says a friend claimed another beer would slate his thirst, while another suggested slay his thirst. The standard expression is slake your thirst, meaning to quench or satisfy it. Slay your thirst works as an eggcorn, a misheard...