Since the 13th century, the adjective wicked has meant “bad” or “evil.” So why do people in New England use wicked as an intensifying adverb to mean “very” or “extremely”? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Wicked is a Very Fine...
Nate in Winterville, North Carolina, remembers an older relative asking Are you going to get outside of that? meaning “Are you going to finish that meal?” To get outside of a meal or to climb outside of a meal suggests that you’re getting the food...
Jeremy calls from Charleston, South Carolina, to say that when he lived in southeast New Hampshire, he was puzzled by the use of a seemingly negative response to indicate something positive. For example, if he said I drive a red car and his listener...
Ross in Lyme, New Hampshire wonders what those machines that dispense tickets at the entrance to a parking garage are called. In the business, they’re referred to as ticket spitters, entry stations, or parking ticket dispensers. This is part of a...
Kid cheater and child cheater are synonyms for spatula, because when you’re baking a cake, a spatula is so efficient for removing the remnants of a sweet mixture from a bowl that there’s little left for a kid to lick off. This is part of a complete...
A New Hampshire listener recalls that as a boy, when he talked friends within earshot of his mother and said referred to her as she, his mother would pipe up with “she, being the cat’s mother.” It’s an old expression suggesting that it’s insulting...