A pint-sized mad scientist, a green-haired girl with a contagious sense of wonder, and a 10-year-old detective. They’re all characters in the books on Grant’s latest list of recommended books for children. Also, what’s the word for...
Did you ever wonder why we capitalize the pronoun “I,” but not any other pronoun? Also, the romantic story behind the term halcyon days, the origin of the phrase “like white on rice,” and the linguistic scuttlebutt on the...
A few weeks ago, a listener was looking for a term to describe the copy of The Emperor’s New Clothes that he’d read many times as a child. In this picture book, the naughty bits were always cleverly covered up. Thinking he wanted a...
A Scrabble game sparks a debate between a college student and her English-teacher sister. Which is correct: stupider or more stupid? This is part of a complete episode.
MTV n.— «“You can get Viread at many gay bars or clubs,” says Bob Adams, managing editor of The Advocate‘s sister publication HIV Plus, adding that when it is sold along with Viagra and crystal meth the combination is known as “MTV”—meth...
deer fast n.— «She recalled how the boy began to cry because he was so thirsty, but he still refused water. Many Iraqi parents try out what is known as “deer fasting,” probably based on a belief that deer eat less during the...