There’s no evidence that anyone named Sam Hill inspired the phrase What in the Sam Hill? It’s almost certainly just a euphemism for What in the hell? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “”What in the Sam Hill” is a Euphemism for “What...
What exactly is a planet? Controversy over this question led to Pluto’s redefinition, along with a brand-new English word. And: Some people now use the phrase all the things! to mean and whatnot or you know what I mean. This new sense of all the...
Whitney from Providence, Rhode Island, shares a funny story about her toddler’s misunderstanding of the word Shoo, as in Shoo it away. It has nothing to do with the shoe you wear on your foot! This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
Noah in Burlington, Vermont, wonders about the catchphrase I’m too cringe for New York, too based for LA. As explained at Know Your Meme, the slang term based is now a positive term popularized by the rapper Lil B, referring to one’s best authentic...
Students in New England might refer to playing hooky from school as bunking, or bunking off. Jonathon Green’s Dictionary of Slang traces the term back to the 1840s in the British Isles. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Bunking”...
When someone says He didn’t lick that off the grass, it means he’s inherited a behavior from relatives or picked it up from those around them. This phrase is particularly common in Northern Ireland. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
