This week, it’s the language of politics. Martha and Grant discuss two handy terms describing politicians: far center and snollygoster. Also, a presidential word puzzle, false friends, spendthrifts, and a long list of 17th-century insults. So...
Pommy, Australian slang for an English person, is often derogatory, and the popular acronym stories are probably backronyms rather than true origins. Jeff from Boones Mill near Roanoke, Virginia, grew up in Australia hearing that it meant Prisoner...
joint rag n.— «Magazines produced by prisoners are called “joint rags.”» —“A convict’s look at life on the inside” in Carleton University Carleton Newsroom (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) July 21, 2009...
in the bag other.— «After a year training at Burnham Military Camp and in Egypt, he found himself in Crete and “in the bag,” as they called it, a prisoner of war on a bitter journey to the “hell camp” in Germany...
Martha is stumped by a riddle sent in by a listener. See if you can solve it. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Prisioner Riddle” Grant, we got an email from a guy named Robert who lives in Eurifereburg of Brooklyn. Mm—...
mack n.— «Mr. Levine and his client were prisoners in California’s Lompoc Federal Correctional Complex. Like other federal inmates around the country, they found a can of mackerel—the “mack” in prison lingo—was the standard...