Amber from Charlotte, North Carolina, wonders why big, heavy shoes are called clodhoppers. Originally, clodhopper was an insulting term aimed at rustics or rubes, a reference to farmers who must literally step over clods of dirt to do with work. It...
Saucered and blowed is an idiom meaning that a project is finished or preparations are complete, but it’s not that odd—Bill Clinton’s used it. It derives from the rustic practice of spilling boiling-hot coffee into a saucer and blowing on it to cool...
A Vermonter says he’s sometimes called a stump-jumper. Should he be flattered or insulted? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Stump-Jumper” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is Jim Sheen. How are you? Doing well. How are...
