Puzzle Person John Chaneski proffers problems pertaining to the letter P. What alliterative term, for example, also means “wet blanket”? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “P Word Quiz” You’re listening to A Way with Words, the show...
What’s the origin of the phrase “Lord willing and the creek don’t rise”? It has to do with travel and farming and nothing whatsoever to do with Native Americans. Back when wagons rode on low gravel roads, you couldn’t pass if the creek level was...
A listener wonders why his girlfriend remarks “hubba-hubba” when he’s dressing up for the night. The flirty call had its heyday in the 1940s, when World War II soldiers would see a pretty lady walking down the street. Although no one’s sure of the...
T-Triple-P n.— «Sampson accused Republicans of caring only about “T triple P—titles, power, pork and patronage.”» —“Democrats say they want to get back to work” by Cara Matthews Politics on the Hudson (New York) July 7, 2009. (source: Double...
P-school n.— «Created in the 1960s, when pregnant girls were such pariahs that they were forced to leave school until their babies were born, the city school system’s four pregnancy schools—or P-schools, as they are obliquely referred to—have lived...
