A woman in Cheyenne, Wyoming, says her mom used to refer to the cloudy scum that sometimes forms atop vinegar as mother. The term has been around at least 500 years, and can refer to the scum on the top or sediment on the bottom. It’s also...
The words we choose can change attitudes — and change lives. A swing-dance instructor has switched to gender-neutral language when teaching couples. He says that using words like “leader” and “follower” actually works better...
In a discussion our Facebook group, a woman shares her mother-in-law’s favorite expression for fudging her age. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Fudging Your Age” We were talking earlier about euphemisms for age...
A San Diego, California, man says that when he got into trouble as a boy, his mother would say, “You lie like a rug and you hang like a cheap curtain.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Lie Like a Rug and Hang Like...
After an earlier conversation about ending phone calls with mmm-bye, Esther remembers her mother answering the phone with Nyello! The greeting was so memorable that Esther and friends once called from a slumber party just to hear it and laugh. This...
Brand names, children’s games, and the etiquette of phone conversations. Those clever plastic PEZ dispensers come in all shapes and sizes—but where did the word PEZ come from? The popular candy’s name is the product of wordplay involving...