A Las Vegas, Nevada, listener says her South Dakota-born mother always refers to supper as the last meal of the day and dinner as the largest meal of the day. It’s caused some confusion in the family. Linguist Bert Vaux has produced dialect maps of...
If you say you can’t accomplish a task, someone might remind you “Mr. Can’t died in a cornfield.” This old saying is particularly evocative if you’ve ever been stuck in a cornfield, because it’s easy to think you won’t make it out. Another version...
black blind n.— «It’s a common misconception among people that if someone is blind they can’t see at all n what is known as “black blind.” That, however, is not true for the majority of the blind and visually impaired n most have extremely limited...
Finally, to great effect, your unaffected radio hosts explain the difference between affect and effect. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Affect and Effect” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is Jean calling from...
redshirt v.— «Parents who “redshirt” their 5-year-olds instead of enrolling them in kindergarten are a concern to some Nebraska educators who are trying to reverse the trend of holding children back until age 6 to start school.» —“Guidelines...
Tingle table n.— «The 1040EZ form, designed for those with only the standard deduction, are taken from the Tingle table directly to an optical scanner, which picks up the information and relays it to the computer in the service center.» —“Tax...
