Eels, orts, and Wordle! Sweden awarded its most prestigious literary award to a book about…eels. The Book of Eels reveals the mysterious life cycle of this sea creature and its significance for famous figures from Aristotle to Sigmund Freud. Plus...
Is there a term for the need to sneeze when you step out into the sun? There are several, including the photic sneeze reflex, solar sneeze reflex, the Peroutka sneeze, and Autosomal Dominant Compelling Helio-Ophthalmic Outburst Syndrome, also known...
Need an Old English word for “sneeze”? How about fnēosung? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Fnēosung!” Here’s one of my favorite words from old English. Bless you. Exactly, that’s what it means. It means sneeze in old English. I...
Dexter in Clintonville, Alabama, reports that his Minnesota-born wife was baffled after she sneezed and he responded with Scat cat! Across the American South, this phrase and variations of it serve as an informal response when someone sneezes. Other...
On HBO’s Not Necessarily the News, comedian Rich Hall offered sniglets, goofy made-up words for things and ideas that don’t already have names, like aquadextrous, describing someone able to use their toes to turn off the bathtub faucet, or...
Need a synonym for “nose”? Try this handy word from a 1904 dialect dictionary: sneeze-horn. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Sneeze-Horn” My new favorite term today anyway is sneeze horn. What is a sneeze horn? Your nose. Oh, okay...