Larry from Cameron, South Carolina, says a friend who grew up on Johns Island, South Carolina, was warned since she was a small child to stay out of the woods, lest she be seized by a scary beast known as the guyascutus. At least as far back as the...
Nick in Palm Springs, California, wonders about the phrase Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt. Springing up the 1970s, the saying been there, done that is sometimes followed by any of several variants, including got the T-shirt; worn the T...
Nathan from San Antonio, Texas, reports that his parents used to use the word crisp to mean “tired” or “cranky.” This usage seems to have originated on U.S, college campuses in the 1970s. This is part of a complete episode.
Anna from Columbia, Mississippi, wonders about a phrase she heard as a youngster from her dad: leyores to catch meddlers or leyores to catch meddlers. Sometimes when she’d ask what he was doing, he’d respond with that cryptic saying...
Toshi, a 27-year-old in Dallas, Texas, wonders about differences in the way she and her parents use punctuation in text messages. When older adults send her texts using ellipses, Toshi gets a queasy feeling that it’s because they’re...
Duane, who lives in New York City, says that his parents who are from the U.S. Virgin Islands use the term corotole to mean “clutter.” This term appears in The Virgin Islands Dictionary by Kareem Nelson-Hull (Bookshop|Amazon). It also...
