When you were growing up, what did you call that piece of playground equipment that you climb up and then slide down? A former New Jersey resident recalls that when her family moved to Indiana, her playmates were startled when she called it a...
Feel like having a little “hair of the dog”? Grant and Martha explain what dog hair has to do with hangover cures. And what do you call it when random objects form a recognizable image, like a cloud resembling a bunny, or the image of Elvis in...
A new resident of Pittsburgh is startled by some of the dialect there, like yinz instead of “you” for the second person plural, and nebby for “nosy.” What’s up with that? For a wonderful site about the dialect of that...
beek n.— «The increase, he said, is due to a growing interest in the ancient practice of beekeeping, as well as what it means to the cycle of life in the natural world.…Arcata resident and Companion Animal Foundation founder Kim...
latching on n.— «Linda Parker, the instructor, shimmies to the right and then to the left, her tan, pointy cowboy boots gliding across the carpet. Her thumbs are tucked into her black belt, a practice called “latching on.” “The reason you...
suitcase scientist n.— «Maryville resident Bill Cabage, a spokesman for Oak Ridge National Laboratory, said ORNL’s frequent fliers are referred to as “suitcase scientists.” Those scientists with their carry-on luggage and laptops are...