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...
Some speakers of American English use the word whenever to refer to a single event, as in “whenever Abraham Lincoln died.” This locution is a vestige of Scots-Irish speech. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Scots...
For 341 years, the poets laureate of Britain have all been male. That just changed with the appointment of Britain’s new poet laureate, Carol Ann Duffy. Her work has been described as “dealing with the darkest turmoil and the lightest...
Helen in Las Vegas, originally from Glasgow, grew up saying she had taken the scunner to someone when a crush suddenly curdled into disgust, irritation, and even a little fear. As a noun, scunner can mean revulsion or loathing, and a miserable...
fearty n.— Note: The Dictionary of the Scots Language also includes the spelling feardie. «Independence is the big question behind current Scottish politics. If unionists avoid asking it, they look like what the Scots call...
A man whose last name is McCoy wants a definitive answer about the origin of the expression “the real McCoy.” He’s been told it comes from the name of turn-of-the-century boxing champ Kid McCoy. Is that really the case? Grant and...
