Among some African Americans, kitchen means the hair at the nape of the neck, the usage Mary in Kenai, Alaska, heard from her granddaughter. The Dictionary of American Regional English records it from the 1970s, and it is especially associated with...
The term skinnymalink, or a skinny marink, is one way the Scots refer to someone who’s thin. In the United States, the term goes back to the 1870’s. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Skinnymalink” Hello, you have A Way with Words...
Ever try to write a well-known passage in limerick form? It’s harder than you think. How about this one: “There once was a lady who’s sure / All that glitters is golden and pure/ There’s a stairway that heads up to heaven, it’s said / And the cost...
In the name of the wee man, a Scots exclamation Dorothy of Fort Worth remembers from Glasgow, is a minced oath in which the wee man refers to the devil. The same words can also simply mean a little fellow, as in a pet name for a grandson. A...
Oorie-eyed, Ann’s family word for furiously angry, is real enough: it descends from Scots oorie, a word recorded since at least the 1700s. Earlier senses included dismal, sad, weak, sick, drooping, chilly, or cold, and later uses could refer to...
To house a beer, sandwich, or pizza is to finish it fast, sometimes because everyone’s about to leave. Whitney in Tallahassee, Florida, heard it from her boyfriend’s friends and wondered about the slang. Its source isn’t certain, but it may connect...
