A wingnut is a handy, stabilizing piece of hardware. So why is it a pejorative term for those of a certain political persuasion? Also, is there something wrong with the phrase committed suicide? Some say that the word commit is a painful reminder...
A woman in Hudson, New York, says her boyfriend, who grew up on Long Island, uses the expression call out sick, meaning “to phone an employer to say you’re not coming to work because you’re ill.” But she uses the phrase call in sick to mean the very...
“Sick abed on two chairs” is an idiom that can describe being sick but working anyway. It can also refer to the idea of being sick and going between two chairs: the dinner table chair, and the porcelain chair in the bathroom. This is part of a...
“He’s been sick three days hand-running.” Huh? In some parts of the country, “hand running” means “in succession, consecutively.” The hosts muse about the possible origins of this phrase. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Hand...
mean adj.— «“Mean” in Hawaii slang is like “awesome.”.. I think mainland slang says “sick” now a days (at least that’s how my hubby explains it).» —“From Debbie… hahahha… I mean, Denise!!” by Jen Young Pieces of Me (Hawaii) Dec. 16, 2008. (source:...
blue-out n.— «Nearly 40 percent of district teachers—3,500 employees—called in sick one day in September, prompting the early closure of six high schools and effectively crippling the district for the day. No organized action of that size had been...