When it comes to language, a listener from Dallas wants to know, as a fellow Texan might put it, “who’s the decider”? Grant explains that nobody makes the rules about language, and everybody does. For those seeking professional...
Rita in Taos, New Mexico, grew up calling the kitchen catchall for pencils, thread, tools, and birthday candles a Fibber McGee drawer. The expression comes from the radio comedy Fibber McGee and Molly, where one running gag sent Fibber to an...
A listener from Tennessee has a saying that doesn’t quite land with his friends: “Is it any count?” Martha confirms that the phrase is most definitely Southern. It originates in the word “account,” and the question of...
Debbie from Alliance, Ohio, asks why hoot shows up in expressions such as she’s a hoot, that’s a hoot, and “I don’t give a hoot.” The cheerful sense, meaning a funny person or a good time, is likely tied to hootenanny, a casual party or impromptu...
Grant and Martha talk about new and unusual language. If something has you puzzled or mystified, you’re metagrobolized. If you’re speaking voice sounds like grunting, you’re said to be gruntulous. And what does spox mean...
Tony from Charlottesville, Virginia, a translator, asked about the phrase in your wheelhouse, meaning well within your area of expertise. According to the Dickson Baseball Dictionary, the baseball term wheelhouse refers to the wheel motion of...