Quiz John Chaneski’s brain teaser this week is much ado about nothing. For example, a TV series was originally pitched as a sitcom about how a comedian gets his material, but later an in-joke led people to believe the show was about nothing. Which...
We’ve previously discussed the term “going commando,” meaning “dressed without underwear.” It first appears in print in 1974, but likely goes back further than that. The scene in a 1996 episode of Friends, wherein Joey goes commando in Chandler’s...
Quiz Guy John Chaneski has a game where the answer to each clue is a word or phrase includes the vowels a, e, i, o, and u exactly one time each. For example, what’s a cute infant animal that’s yet to get its spikes? This is part of a complete...
It’s been a while since Moon Unit Zappa and the Valley Girl craze slipped out of the popular eye, which is likely why the sarcastic quip, “I’m so sure!” had one listener tripped up. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Valley Girl...
When somebody sneezes, you say “bless you” or “gesundheit,” but what about when someone coughs? Grant believes that if anything, the cougher ought to say “excuse me.” A commenter on Paul Davidson’s blog sets a good rule of thumb: Bless anything that...
All aboard! This week, a bit about the musical language of railroad conductors’ calls: “Anaheim, Azusa, and Cu-ca-monga!” Also, the origin of the military slang term cumshaw, tips for learning Latin, the influence of Spanish immigrants on English...
