Samantha, a Latin teacher in Cincinnati, Ohio, is curious about why some people say bread and butter after two people walking together pass by on either side of an object in their path or try to avoid being split. (An example occurs in a 1960...
Have a question about objective pronouns? Whom ya gonna call? Wait–is that right? Or would it be “who ya gonna call”? “Whom” may be technically correct, but insisting on it can get you called an elitist. It’s...
It’s a common superstition: do not split a pole. That is, if two people are walking down the street, they shouldn’t each walk around a different side of a lamppost, telephone pole, or mailbox. But if they do, there’s a remedy: just...
A Slang This! contestant guesses at the meaning of the slang terms faux po and pole tax. This is part of a complete episode.
pole tax n.— «There is a new price to be paid for looking at naked women in Texas. On January 1st the state’s strip clubs began imposing a $5 surcharge for each visitor. The “pole tax,” as it is commonly called, is expected to bring the...
ghost cycle n.— «There are few cars on the road at 1:15 a.m. as two bikers survey a slim metal utility pole at the ill-fated intersection, trying to figure out the most impressive way to attach a crumpled white bike to it with a three...