A Canadian listener’s boyfriend has a special talent. He can remove his socks, roll them up, and throw them across the room into the laundry basket, all with his toes. She says he has toe dexterity, but wonders if the word dexterous can apply...
Why do we call our biceps guns? The slang lexicographer Jonathon Green suggests that the metaphor first pops up in baseball around the 1920s, when players referred to their throwing arms as guns. Believe it or not, the early baseball pitchers...
Quiz Guy John Chaneski’s latest puzzle requires players to guess the last word in a two-line verse. For example: “He’s seven feet tall and big as a tank, The meanest Marine that you’ve ever BLANK.” (Stumped? Take a...
The word zarf means “a metal cupholder,” but a Scrabble enthusiast says other players always challenge his use of that word. He wants to know its origin. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Zarf Origin” Hello...
Quiz Guys John Chaneski and Greg Pliska lead a couple of rounds of “Chain Reaction,” a word game that’s great for parties and long car rides. Two players try to make a third one guess the word that the other two are thinking of...
chessically adv.— «I can’t say I’ll miss Bobby Fischer. Chessically speaking, he died years ago. But I’ll continue to miss the player and artist that he was, his courageous honesty and sublime creativity. He wasn’t just a great player. He...