Mary-Clare recalls that when she was growing up in St. Louis, Missouri, everyone she knew used the term hoosier as a kind of teasing pejorative. If someone did something silly, others would say You’re such a hoosier, the adjective hoozh, or jokingly...
Gay in Tucson, Arizona, remembers her grandmother inviting guests in with take off your cape and fascinator and have a seat. Originally, a fascinator was a kind of scarf that held one’s hair in place and added an air of mystery, and thus...
Steven from San Antonio, Texas, seeks a word that means “the opposite of trauma.” Perhaps eustress, literally “good stress”? Or harmonization? Placid? Is there a better term for this? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “What Word...
Sarah in San Antonio, Texas, says that when she goes to a restaurant and orders iced tea, the server usually asks, “Sweet or unsweet?” That doesn’t sound right to her. How do you unsweeten tea? Doesn’t the un- imply a “reversal of a state”? Not...
Claire from San Antonio, Texas, has a story about misunderstanding a word when she was young. When she saw a book with thesaurus on the cover, she grabbed it and started reading, thinking she was about to learn about a new type of dinosaur. This is...
Tess in San Antonio, Texas, says her father and grandfather used to pretend to be bogeymen, playfully warning kids to be good lest Ol’ Santy Mocus come after them. The word tantibogus is a euphemism for the Devil, and Ol’ Santy Mocus may be yet...
