Justin from Fort Worth, Texas, heard a coworker warn against getting whistlebit, or “still being at work when the quitting whistle blows.” (Remember Fred Flintstone in the quarry?) The term whistlebit follows the pattern of snakebit, a slang term in...
In nautical lore, Fiddler’s Green is the mythical place where dead mariners go to enjoy a life of leisure, with plenty of song, dancing, flirting, and rum. It may be tempting to connect this expression with mariners’ term fid, or a “tool for...
One hundred years ago, American journalist and satirist Ambrose Bierce published a curmudgeonly book of writing advice called Write It Right: A Little Blacklist of Literary Faults.
When someone’s fast asleep, a Texan might say that he’s “out like Lottie’s eye.” But who’s Lottie and what happened to her eye? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Out Like Lottie’s Eye” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is...
This week’s “Slang This!” contestant learns the difference between a trailer queen and soup spitter. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Trailer Queen and Soup Spitter” You’re listening to A Way with Words. I’m Grant Barrett. And I’m...
backhaul n.— «Research firm GeoResults measures the market for the wholesale transport of communications traffic, or “backhaul” as it is called, at $2.8 billion in 2007, and projects the market to grow to $15.3 billion by 2011.» —“Conterra Clicks...
