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Language Newsletter in Your Inbox

Greetings! In our latest show, we talk about an expression familiar to many African-Americans but little known outside that community, "I couldn't buy a louse in a wrestling jacket." Also, what does it mean if your dog is...

National Book Awards Word Quiz

Quiz Guy John Chaneski has a special inspiration for this week’s puzzle: His wife, author Jennifer Michael Hecht, is one of five judges for the nonfiction category of the National Book Awards. He’s crafted a quiz based on some of the 500...

Perendination and Procrastination

Hi, language lovers! Happy March 4, and Happy National Grammar Day! (Get it? “March forth” and syntactically sin no more?) Join the revelry here: Just don’t say we didn’t warn you about the earworm from that grammar song...

share-house

share-house  n.— «Many weekenders stay in what is known as a “share-house”, sprawling mansions shared by as many as 30 twenty-to-thirty-somethings, who often sleep six to a room in a scenario that calls to mind the TV shows Big Brother and...

English Down Under

This week, Martha and Grant discuss terms from Australia, including aerial ping-pong, pumpkin squatter, and…kangarooster? They explain the connection between stereotypes and stereos, and why we call the person clearing tables in a restaurant a...

Never Bolt Your Door with A Boiled Carrot

Proverbs pack great truths into a few well-chosen words, no matter which language you speak. Check out this one from Belize: “Don’t call the alligator a big-mouth till you have crossed the river.” And this truism from Zanzibar:...

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