High school students in Alabama share some favorite slang terms. If someone tells you to touch grass, they’re telling you to get a reality check — but the last thing you’d actually want to touch is dog water! Also, the history of the word hangover...
At a South African boarding school, Rob picked up a phrase from Afrikaans that translates to land with your bum in the butter, meaning “to be lucky.” There are several variations in English — often with other words for “bum”, like “ass” or “arse” —...
Noah in Charleston, South Carolina, wonders about the origin of hangover, “the unpleasant physical results of drinking too much alcohol.” Does it come from the old penny hang, also called a hangover, a place where people without a place to sleep...
Marion from Charleston, South Carolina, encountered uff-da after marrying into a Minnesota family on bumper stickers and in everyday talk. The exclamation comes from Norwegian uff da and works as a flexible interjection for surprise, weariness...
Pat from Bishop, California, shares a story about a college history professor who gave a detailed lecture about a heroic Norwegian named Loof Lirpa. Only after taking extensive notes did the students realize that the professor was lecturing on the...
In Norway, the idiom pling i bollen, or literally, “a pinging sound in a bowl,” describes someone “empty-headed” or “stupid.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Pinging Bowl” Music Music Music Music Music Music Here’s a Norwegian...