Ryan from West Bolton, Vermont, who grew up on a farm, wonders if the noun harrow, meaning a “farm implement used for breaking up dirt” and the adjective harrowing, meaning “extremely painful” are etymologically related...
Ryan in Ketchikan, Alaska, reports that a couple of friends told him they’d attend his new gallery exhibition with bells, meaning they would be there “with great enthusiasm.” The far more common phrase is to be there with bells on...
Former U.S. Poet Laureate Kay Ryan once observed that a poem should act like a clown suitcase, one you can open up and never quit emptying. This is part of a complete episode.
A Marine at Camp Pendleton says that while in Iraq, he and his buddies heard the greeting “Yambo!” from Ugandan troops there. Now they use it with each other, and he wonders about its literal meaning. Martha explains that it’s a...
After a San Diego man used the term Eskimo kiss with his preschooler, they both wondered about its origin. This is part of a complete episode.