The word flout, originally meaning “to show contempt,” pops up in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Here’s a hint to help you remember the difference between flout and flaunt: You can flaunt your bikini body on...
The stitch in your side that results from laughing goes back to the thousand-year-old use of the verb stitch to refer to a sewing needle poking through something. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Stitch in your Side”...
The exclamation Fiddlesticks!, meaning “a trifle” or “something insignificant or absurd,” goes back to the time of Shakespeare. It endures in part because it’s fun to say. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript...
Lori from Swansboro, North Carolina, wonders about pure-T mommicked, which in many parts of the South and South Midlands means “confused.” Its sense of “harrass, tease, impose upon” is particularly common in North Carolina...
If something’s got you feeling ate up, then you might be consumed by the notion that it didn’t go perfectly. You’re overwhelmed, obsessed, or maybe you’re just exhausted. However, among members of the Air Force, ate up has...
Is it a good thing to be a voracious reader? We think so. Just take Shakespeare’s notion of the replenished intellect in Love’s Labour’s Lost. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Voracious Reader”...