Ian in Jacksonville, Florida, wonders about why musicians use the word clam to mean “a mistake” or “an egregious musical error,” as in There are a lot of clams in there or We need to practice where the clams are regarding a musical passage that...
John from San Diego, California, grew up hearing be-bopping for wandering from place to place, running around, or going about without much of a plan. The expression, also shortened to bopping, appears to draw on bebop and jazz slang, with the same...