Is it a pitched battle or a pitch battle? Originally, a pitched battle was conducted according to traditional rules of warfare, which called for combat in a prearranged time and place. The pitch in this term has to do with positioning, in much the...
Lindy from Bozeman, Montana, grew up hearing her father call cocktail time at the family’s summer cabins horning hour, a kind of private happy hour for the drinkers on a beach where some neighbors abstained. The phrase hasn’t turned up in the...
A listener in Billings, Montana, says his brother is an English teacher who corrects his pronunciation of forte, meaning “strong point.” Pedants will insist that it should be pronounced like “fort,” not “FOUR-tay,” but that reflects an assumption...
Offbeat mascot names from Montana include the Powell County Wardens (so named because the high school is in the same county as the Montana State Prison), and the Missoula Loyola Sacred Heart Breakers. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript...
In an earlier episode, we discussed funny school mascot names. Listeners wrote in with more, including the Belfry Bats (the high school mascot of Belfry, Montana) and the Macon Whoopie hockey team, from Macon, Georgia. This is part of a complete...
Megan from Billings, Montana, asks what to call the foam sleeve that slips over a can: cozy, koozie, coozy, kozy, or another spelling. The word traces back to tea cozy, the knitted or padded cover that keeps a teapot warm, traditionally pronounced...
