Miley in The Dalles, Oregon, asks about going gunny bags meaning to “break down” or “go haywire.” Her mother uses this expression, but has no idea where she picked it up. The term gunny sack, referring to a bag made of coarse material such as jute...
A sumptuous new collection of poems about specific photographs shows how the moment in time captured by camera can inspire a verbal work of art as well. Also, why do we say that a quarterback got sacked? Plus, If you’re planning to vacation at a...
A Green Bay Packers fan wonders why a quarterback who’s tackled is said to be sacked. The roots of the word sack as in “bag” goes back thousands of years, all the way to Akkadian, later spreading through Greek, Latin, and then to Romance and...
If someone offered you a croaker with an old man’s face, would you take it? Here’s a hint: the face belongs to Benjamin Franklin. A Louisiana native shares this rare term for a hundred dollar bill. Grant suspects that it may derive from the French...
Summer brings a shift to weekly online audio releases instead of new radio broadcasts. The production team continues to read audience messages and social media posts. The linguistic concept of a pleonasm receives an explanation through the phrase...
chipping n.— «Almost every time Cole lines up across the left tackle, he’s got a tight end to deal with, too. Running backs also take a quick shot at him before releasing into the flat—a technique called chipping.» —“Eagles ends still looking for...
