The French horn, a beautiful instrument known for its mellow sound, originated as a hunting horn. The French merely added some innovations that made it more of a practical, usable instrument. But professional musicians often prefer to call it simply...
A swinging song by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra called “I’ve Got a Gal in Kalamazoo” drops the line “What a gal, a real pipperoo.” A homeschooling family in Maine wonders just what a pipperoo is. For one, the suffix -eroo is a jokey ending...
Remember a few years ago when Amazon introduced that mysterious device called a Kindle? People worried that electronic readers would replace traditional books. Turns out the death of the hardcover was greatly exaggerated. Also, the expression “bump...
Some musicians are having a dispute over the word repeat: If the conductor says, “Repeat this section two times,” how many times should they play the passage? Twice? Three times? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Musical Repeats”...
FLOP n.— «Often the groom’s family pays for what’s known as FLOP—flowers, liquor, orchestra and photography/videography—and the bride’s family covers the reception. This usually comes out even, according to Rosenthal, especially since the bride’s...

