The admonition Don’t Mess with Texas may sound like a tough guy’s warning, but it started out as an anti-littering slogan more than 40 years ago. In the 1980s, the Texas Department of Transportation launched the campaign to cut roadside litter that...
Carpe diem is often translated “seize the day,” but the carpe in that Latin saying can also mean “pluck” or “harvest.” The saying comes from a brief poem by the ancient Roman writer Horace. Addressing a woman desperate to know her fate, Horace uses...
The expression sky-blue pink is what’s known as a “fobbing off phrase,” a playful, nonsensical answer for when a child asks one too many questions. Variations include sky blue pink with a finny haddy border (the word haddy meaning “Scottish smoked...
An acclaimed poet’s tender poem about holding a newborn for the first time reflects a complex swirl of emotions. And: A caller finds that in her workplace, the expression out of pocket can mean very different things: either “being unavailable” or...
Words of wisdom from G.K. Chesterton: The world will never starve for want of wonders; but only for want of wonder. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Want of Wonder” G.K. Chesterton is always good for a quotation. And...
You know that Yogi Berra quote about how Nobody ever comes here; it’s too crowded? Actually, the first person to use this was actress Suzanne Ridgeway, who appeared in several movies with The Three Stooges. A new book shows that many well...
