Hi-ho, Martha and Grant here! Did you miss us? We've been super-busy, working hard to keep bringing you more entertaining conversation about language. Thanks for the cards, letters, and phone calls in which you share your love, too. We...
An Orange County, California, listener describes how both his left-handed parents were forced as children to learn to write with their non-dominant hand. Their handwriting looked unusual, to say the least. Grant discusses myths about handedness and...
landfill indie n.— «Not sure how Stone Roses can be called landfill indie. Landfill indie to me means fairly non-descript generic guitar bands that don’t stand out from the others. Hardly the Stone Roses.» —“Landfill...
split bit n.— Note: “Bit” is well-established slang meaning “prison term.” «Under the state laws that govern sentencing, grand larceny is considered a non-violent crime, and it carries no mandatory minimum prison...
sterile cockpit n.— «Her ears were stuffed up, and at one point in the flight to Buffalo she asked if the plane could descend early so she would be more comfortable. With the plane flying well under 10,000 feet, a time when the crew was...
Like mushrooms in fallen leaves, new words keep popping up overnight. Also, is there an English word that means “the in-laws of your son or daughter“? And what does it mean when someone says, “Well, that was odder than Dick’s...