A Nevada listener says her mother used to ask her to collect the pearls after a meal, meaning “gather up all the unused dishes and utensils that didn’t need to be washed.” In Australian slang, such an item is often called a sunbeam. This is part of...
Is there a word for a serving dish shaped like the food it’s meant to serve, such as a plate for serving fish that’s shaped like a fish? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Name for a Serving Dish Shaped Like the Food it Contains?”...
The mealtime admonition “someone has to finish this up so the sun shines tomorrow” comes from a German saying that goes back at least 150 years. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “So the Sun Shines Tomorrow” Hello, you have A Way...
Why call it a doggy bag when it’s really for your husband? Grant and Martha talk about the language of leftovers and why we eat beef and not cow. And how old is the typical public-library patron? Plus, in Afghanistan, proverbs are part of everyday...
What a difference pronunciation makes! The United States has a Department of Defense, and an individual might take classes in self-defense. So why do football and basketball coaches say they’re proud of their . . . “DEE-fence?” Linguists have a...
Put a plate of milk in front of a cat, and you know that cat will catillate. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Catillate” Here’s another limerick from the Omnificent English Dictionary in limerick form. This is for the word catilate...
