Quiz Guy John Chaneski is puzzling over theatrical productions from an alternate universe, where the titles of familiar plays include a scrambled word. For example, what’s the Shakespearean comedy in which Titania, Oberon, and all the fairies...
Evelyn in Wilmington, North Carolina, says that when she and her older sister were sassy to their parents, her mother would say either You’re getting too big for your britches or I’m going to bring you down a buttonhole lower. The former...
How did the town of What Cheer, Iowa, get its name? The word cheer was long used to indicate an emotional state of any kind, so asking someone, What cheer? was another way to say “How are you?” The greeting, What cheer, netop? is closely associated...
Billboarding is theater slang for giving a word or phrase a little extra prominence, the way a skilled Shakespearean actor might set off the first mention of a person or place so the audience catches it. The technique is one of many practical habits...
Claire from Wilmington, North Carolina, wants to know the origin of the phrase “sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite.” She heard a story she heard about the saying having to tightening ropes that support mattresses, which is not...
Masha in Vergennes, Vermont, says her family uses the word ilk to refer to a variety or type, as in, “What ilk of tree is that?” Is this term is now archaic? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Using...