Barb in Battle Creek, Michigan, reports that when she was a small child, a neighbor from Georgia said she would bring her a box with five handles for her birthday. Barb was overjoyed until she learned that the phrase is actually a joking euphemism...
Kathy from Huntsville, Alabama, remembers that her father would entice guests to stay awhile longer with the puzzling phrase We’re fixing to open up a keg of nails. Actually, the keg of nails in this case is a jocular euphemism referencing a...
If you need a synonym for freckle, there’s always the word ephelis, from ancient Greek for “nail stud.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “An Ephelis is a Freckle” Here’s an interesting word, if feelis. E-p-h-e-l-i-s, if feelis. No...
Dead as a doornail is a common idiom, but what exactly is a doornail, and why is it dead? The saying goes at least as far back as the 1350’s, and may simply refer to the fact that the nails used to make big, heavy doors were securely fixed in place...
Howdy from Wordville! In this week’s archive edition of “A Way with Words,” we talk about Mushroom Basket, Moose Point, and other wacky names given to paint chips and nail polish colors. We also discussed the origin of “spam” and “gringo” and...
tooth floater n.— «Jim Johnson of Sacred Heart has been a horse tooth floater for 15 years. He uses something that looks like a giant nail file called a “float”—the name used years ago for leveling or planing tools. He swears it doesn’t hurt the...
