A caller in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, says that when his grandfather was asked how he was doing, he’d reply, “running like a pickle seeder,” meaning “doing really well.” The joke, of course, is that there’s no such thing as a pickle seeder. After all...
If the word consecutively doesn’t feel exciting enough, there’s always hand-running. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Hand-Running” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, my name is Jan Haller. I’m calling from Taos, New Mexico...
If something’s “the bee’s knees,” you can bet that it’s also beast. A sixth grade teacher wonders about the term beast being thrown around by her students. This synonym for “cool” or “good” is also used as a verb, as in “I beasted that exam,” or “I...
There’s an old joke running around that goes as follows, “Lost: Bald, one-eyed ginger Tom, crippled in both back legs, recently castrated, answers to the name of ‘Lucky.'” Nigel Rees of The Quote Unquote Newsletter has been tracking down this oft...
A Carlsbad, California, couple has a running debate over whether an egregious whopper is correctly called a bold-faced lie or a bald-faced lie. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Bold-Faced vs. Bald-Faced” Hi, you have A Way with...
In many neighborhoods, the night before Halloween is the night when pranksters run around wreaking all kinds of mischief–toilet-papering houses, spraying windows with shaving cream, ringing doorbells and then running away. A Connecticut woman...

