Jennifer in Omaha, Nebraska, is curious about the origin of the phrase to be in the soup, meaning “to get into trouble.” This is part of a complete episode.
Rachel, who moved from Nebraska to attend school in College Park, Maryland, says her friends were surprised when she referred to the driver of an ice cream truck as the ding ding man. Indeed, this term seems to now be limited largely to Omaha...
Aru in Omaha, Nebraska, says friends and colleagues tease him about his use of prepone, usually used to mean “move an appointment to an earlier date or time.” It’s a word commonly used in Indian English, is morphologically sound, and...
A woman in Omaha, Nebraska, wonders about the difference between the adjectives homey and homely. In the UK, the word homely is still a positive term that means cozy, whereas in the US it usually means “unattractive” or “plain...
An Omaha, Nebraska, woman wonders about an Italian food that’s like a stuffed, pizza-size calzone stuffed with potatoes and spinach, or meat, or broccoli. She’s seen it spelled several ways, including goodierooni, goudarooni, and...
A girl in Omaha, Nebraska, has a dispute with her father about the meaning of the words opaque and translucent. Opaque describes something that blocks light completely. Something translucent lets some light pass through. This is part of a complete...