This week: whether cotton-pickin’ is racist, unintentionally funny headlines, whether enormity can simply mean “enormous,” how a person can be “such a pill,” and pandiculation. “It’s good stuff, Maynard...
Why are the names of cars so unimaginative? Grant argues that auto manufacturers might take inspiration from ornithology to build a better car name. (Then again, would you be any less aggravated if you were rear-ended by a lazuli bunting?) Also this...
Chicken bog isn’t a bird name, nor is it a place. It’s a dish of rice, chicken, country sausage, and lots of black pepper, found primarily in the Southeast. It sometimes goes by the name chicken perlow or pillow or pilau. A South...
In certain parts of the South, a small, impromptu gift is variously known by the sibilant synonyms sirsee, surcy, searcy, or circe. A South Carolina woman who’s heard the word all her life is baffled as to where it came from. This is part of a...
firehouse primary n.— «The presidential primary in South Carolina is known as a “firehouse primary,” as it is being held in conjunction with the party’s precinct meetings at which local party officers are elected and delegates...
jorts n.pl.— «I’d be fine if I can be assured that what’s being mocked are unsightly variations of jean shorts (I refuse to be drawn in by the taunting and refer to them as “jorts.”).» —“I don’t mind being the butt of a...