You may have a favorite word in English, but what about your favorite in another language? The Spanish term ojalá is especially handy for expressing hopefulness and derives from Arabic for “God willing.” In Trinidad, if you want to ask...
Addie in Neenah, Wisconsin, seeks the origin of a word her grandfather used for gunk that gets stuck, such as a bit of food between one’s teeth. The dialectal term is likely ackempucky, which, according to the Dictionary of American Regional...
Why do we say “get out of my bathtub” when we’re in sync on a playground swing with the person next to us? Listeners suggest that maybe it’s because you’re swinging “in sink.” This is part of a complete...
In a few parts of the country, such as eastern Wisconsin, the more common term for “water fountain” is bubbler. A man who heard the term frequently in Rhode Island wonders: How did bubbler make it all the way over to Rhode Island, but...
Who put the piping in the expression “piping hot”? This is part of a complete episode.
pipe-bursting n.— «However, the sanitary districts also used a process called “pipe-bursting,” Carmouche said. In that process, a line was threaded into the sewer. Once inside, he said, it expanded to become a new sewer pipe...