If you want to sound defiant, you could do worse than exclaiming, “Nixie on your tintype!” This phrase, meaning something to the effect of “spit on your face,” popped up in Marjorie Benton Cooke’s 1914 book, Bambi (not related to the sweet little...
A California college student is campaigning for international scientific authorities to adopt the slang term hella as an official prefix indicating a huge number. Will he succeed? Also, how to pronounce niche, the regional terms doppick and nixie...
A veterinarian in Pennsylvania Dutch Country runs into some strange terms. What’s wrong with a dog that’s doppick, or a cat that’s nixie? What does it mean to have your animal dressed? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Doppick and...

