Greg in Mena, Arkansas, says that when he was learning to be a professional pilot, one of his instructors would say, You thought like Nelly if someone had thought they were doing something correctly, but failed to. Although the phrase is not that...
Imagine telling someone how to get to your home, but without using the name of your street, or any other street within ten miles. Could you do it? We take street names for granted, but these words are useful for far more, like applying for a job or...
David from Kalamazoo, Michigan, is a former truck driver who remembers that his fellow users of CB radio tended to sound similar, no matter what part of the country they were from. Is there such a thing as an occupational accent? Many of those truck...
When the pressure drops in an airplane cabin and all the oxygen masks fall, pilots refer to all that equipment hanging down as a rubber jungle. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Rubber Jungle Pressure Bundles” The other...
Zack, a railroad conductor in Omaha, Nebraska, wonders about a bit of jargon from his profession: tie up, meaning to “clock out,” or “leave work,” as in What time did you guys tie up yesterday? This usage is referenced in The...
A third-grader in San Diego, California, wants to know why the first episode of a television series is often titled Pilot. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Why are First Episodes of Television Shows Called Pilots?”...