The word whang is an old term used in New England, particularly Maine. It’s an annual party where you invite your friends and neighbors to help you with the drudgery of spring cleaning. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
What do you call that room in your house where the family gathers — the family room? The den? The TV room? Names for that living space go in and out of fashion. In the 1930s, you might have called it the sitting room, parlor, living room, setting...
Bill in Surrey, New Hampshire, says his father used to tell him to hold tightly to something, such as a rope, by urging him to muckle on to it. He rarely heard the word again until a Scotsman visited his farm and admiringly noted that Bill’s...
James is from southwest Michigan, which was heavily settled by the Dutch. He grew up using the adjective logy, meaning “lethargic,” and was surprised to learn that friends from elsewhere didn’t know the word. He wonders if he knows...
Janie says that when she moved to Nantucket, Massaschusetts, she’d hear oldtimers there describe something in positive terms by saying it was some good. The some here functions as an intensifier that simply means very. This expression...
Max from Sacramento, California, is curious about why the long, frosted doughnut with no filling that he grew up calling a long john goes by so many other names, including longie, bar doughnut, chocolate bar, maple bar, and maple stick. Food names...