Listeners continue to weigh in on the topic of what to call those impromptu, free-for-all dinners at home where everyone just cobbles together their own dish with whatever leftovers or ingredients are handy. Frances writes from Bluffton, South...
Jennifer in Andrews, South Carolina, is curious about the term case quarter, meaning “a single 25-cent coin — not two dimes and a nickel and not five nickels.” It’s heard mainly in South Carolina, particularly among African...
Whitney from Memphis, Tennessee, is curious about the origin of the phrase to beat the band, which describes something happening in forceful or energetic way. Although the origins of this Americanism are murky, it may refer to a time when every...
The expression to have brass on one’s face is used in the South Atlantic region of the United States to describe someone who is bold or overconfident. There’s a similar idea in the word brazen, which derives from an Old English word for brass. This...
Gaywater is not the opposite of conversion therapy. It’s a southern American term for whiskey, especially the illegal kind. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Gaywater” You know the term gay water? I’ve seen...
A caller with a 25-year-old parrot wonders: How much language do birds really understand? Plus, Knock-knock. Who’s there? Boo. Well… you can guess the rest. But there was a time when these goofy jokes were a brand-new craze sweeping the nation...