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...
In British English, the exercise known as push-ups in the United States goes by the name press-ups. The Spanish term is lagartijas, a lagartija being a small lizard that sometimes moves in a similar way. The English word alligator comes from the...
We often hear that English is going to hell in a handbasket. Actually, though, linguistic handwringing about sinking standards and sloppy speech has been going on for centuries – at least as far back as the 1300’s! And: language also...
A push present is a gift a father gives to a mother for giving birth. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Push Presents” Grant, you know what a push present is? Yes, this is a gift that a father buys for a mother who just...
If you keep postponing an important chore, you’re said to be procrastinating. There’s a more colorful idiom in Portuguese, however. It translates as “to push something with your belly.” This is part of a complete episode...
A recent study found that some names crop up more frequently than others in certain professions. The name William is especially common among attorneys–and graphic designers include a higher-than-average number of Jessicas. Plus, picturesque...

