Martha from Rock Hill, South Carolina, wonders about the phrase She’s got the botts, meaning “she’s pouting.” The botts, also spelled the bots, refers to “a general malaise or moody spell,” and the bot in this case is the same bot in the botfly, a...
Eric often drives past cotton fields near his home in Tucson, Arizona, which has him wondering about the phrase He’s walking in tall cotton, meaning “Things are going well.” Variants include to be in tall cotton and to walk in high cotton. This is...
Jo Ann lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia, but grew up in England. She remembers that when her brother was mopey during family trips to visit their grandparents in Devon, their grandfather would tell him “Get that black dog off your back!” For...
What’s the emotion halfway between clinical depression and euphoria? After our discussion of this question, listeners chimed in by email, phone, and social media with suggestions. They included complacent, balanced, placid, fine, content, copacetic...
A listener noticed fugacious on a sign at the Orchid House at the San Diego Zoo, where the botanical label refers to flowers that last only briefly, sometimes just a day. The adjective also describes anything passing quickly, including a sudden...
Sigrin in Albany, New York, grew up hearing her Iowa father use owly for being irritable, peevish, or grouchy, often as a gentle scolding. The word isn’t a single-family coinage. It’s chiefly Midwestern and Canadian, especially around the border...
