Over the centuries, the meaning of happiness has traveled a long way. Today we speak of the pursuit of happiness, but it used to be that the word happiness suggested something that occurs only by chance–something that simply… happens. Plus, the joys...
If you’re going to hit the road in a motor home, best to bone up on some of the slang used by RV enthusiasts, like stinky slinky, PUPs, and gassers. A stinky slinky is a sewer hose, a PUP is a pop-up camper, and a gasser is a motor home powered by...
If someone urges you to spill the tea, they probably don’t want you tipping over a hot beverage. Originally, the tea here was the letter T, as in “truth.” To spill the T means to “pass along truthful information.” Plus...
Audrey in Fort Smith, Arkansas, is curious about the term East Jesus Nowhere meaning a nonexistent, faraway place. Other such fanciful place names include East Overshoe, South Burlap, West Burlap, West Hell, South Succotash, Ginny Gall, and...
Craig from Helena, Montana, grew up hearing pop for a carbonated drink and asks where the term comes from. The word apparently refers to the popping sound of a cork or stopper leaving an early fizzy-drink bottle. Soda is tied to soda ash, sodium...
A listener doing volunteer work in Tempe, Arizona, is puzzled when a co-worker refers to a bottle opener as a church key. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Church Key” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is Morgan...