Kendall from Boone, North Carolina, says that particularly after Kendall had a challenging day, her mother would gently ask How’s your copperosity? meaning “How are you doing?” Copperosity is a playful variation of corporosity. Corporosity refers to...
Sheila in Charlotte, North Carolina, remembers her father used to ask the kids if they needed any geetus, meaning “Do you need any money?” This word for money is spelled several ways, including geedus, geetis, geetas, gheetus, and geets, as in Give...
In Charlotte, North Carolina, there’s a Street Avenue. In Fairbanks, Alaska, there’s a Yellowsnow Road. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Goodbye, Yellowsnow Road” Here are a couple of more street names. In Charlotte, North...
Rebecca in Charlotte, North Carolina, says that when the grandkids would take their leave, her grandmother would send them off with the sweet admonition, Be particular! Heard most often in the American South and South Midlands, this advice derives...
Artie in New Bern, North Carolina, wonders why a poker hand consisting of a pair of aces and a pair of eights is called a dead man’s hand. Legend has it that when Wild Bill Hickock was killed during a poker game in 1876 in the Dakota Territory, he...
Charlie from Columbia, South Carolina, wonders about a nickname for his state, South Cack. University of North Carolina linguist Bonnie Taylor-Blake has researched this term and its variants extensively. They include Cackalacky, Cackalacka, Calinky...
