We all know that gesture people do, sometimes ironically, where you wipe or smack your hands together to signify that a job’s done. There’s no common term for it, but a Schenectady, New York, listener has a great suggestion: all-done...
An Indianapolis listener is curious about a saying his dad used to describe anything that’s excellent or the best of its kind: Just like New York. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Just like New York” Hello, you...
Carriage, cart, wagon, buggy — how do you refer to that giant basket on wheels you push around the grocery store? As the Harvard Dialect Survey shows, the answer depends on what part of the United States you’re from. See the big Facebook...
It’s the business of business jargon. Say you’re in line at the drugstore. Does it bother you if the cashier says, “Next guest”? In department stores and coffeeshops, does the term “guest” suggest real...
Some people proudly embrace the label cancer survivor, while others feel that’s not quite the right word. Is there a better term for someone who’s battled cancer? Writers and listeners share the best sentence they’ve read all day...
Yolanda from San Antonio, a native of the Netherlands, wonders whether going Dutch, meaning that each person pays their own way, implies that Dutch people are cheap. The phrase belongs to a cluster of English expressions that cast the Dutch in an...