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...
Brian in Harvest, Alabama, says his grandfather used to offer him a meat-filled biscuit he called hoomlabbas, supposedly eaten by cowboys in the Old West. Did his grandpa make up the word? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Ever...
“Raise hell and put a chunk under it” is simply an intensified version of the phrase “raise hell,” meaning “to cause trouble” or “create a noisy disturbance.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Raise Hell and Put a Chunk Under It” I...
A woman in Bozeman, Montana, wonders if any other families use the term “horning hour” as synonym for “happy hour.” The term’s a bit of a mystery, although it may have something to do with horning as in a shivaree, charivari, or other noisy...
Joyce, in Azle, Texas, say her grandmother used to exclaim, “That just beats a goose a-gobblin’!” whenever something awed or frustrated her. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Goose a-Gobblin'” Hello, you have A Way with Words...
The Southern idiom tear the rag off the bush has been used when scandalous relationships are revealed, but it’s also applicable to anything surprising. It’s similar to “Don’t that beat all?” and “Doesn’t that take the cake?” Its etymology is...
