What’s happening linguistically when someone’s using the second-person singular possessive in a list of items? A Charlottesville, Virginia, caller began wondering that recently after hearing a wood-flooring salesperson say, “You got your...
The Spanish phrase “Donde lloran, esta el muerto” literally translates as “Where there’s crying, there’s a dead person.” In everyday use, however, the meaning is somewhat different. You might use it, for example...
In English, we say that someone who’s egotistical has a big head. But in French, according to a caller, the person is said to have big ankles. Why ankles? This is part of a complete episode.
Does it bug you when people talk about themselves in the third person? A caller finds herself mightily annoyed by this habit, which she observes especially among politicians and celebrities. There’s a word for the practice of referring to...
Many people are irritated by using the word troops to refer to a small number of soldiers, as in “Two troops were wounded.” Is it ever correct to use the word troop to mean an individual person? The hosts explain that in the military...
In this week’s puzzle, Quiz Guy John Chaneski is looking for phrases in which the only vowel is the letter “A.” Try this clue: “This person said, ‘I have spent all my life with dance and being a dancer. It’s...