A caller in Fort Laramie, Wyoming, refers to a roadside ditch as a borrow pit, as if the dirt dug from it was “borrowed” to form the raised surface of the road. It’s a misinterpretation of the original term, barrow pit, deriving from barrow, meaning...
A Las Vegas, Nevada, listener says her South Dakota-born mother always refers to supper as the last meal of the day and dinner as the largest meal of the day. It’s caused some confusion in the family. Linguist Bert Vaux has produced dialect maps of...
A vegetarian from Vermillion, South Dakota, wonders about the origin of a popular loose meat sandwich called a Tavern Sandwich. It’s like a sloppy joe, and also goes by the monikers Maid-Rite and Tastee. Martha notes a diner in Sioux City, Iowa...
You may remember the call we had from Tony in Encinitas, California. He was curious about the term for an unusual hazing ritual.
abortuary n.— «According to the testimony of several women who have had abortions at the Planned Parenthood abortuary, women don’t usually see the doctor/abortionist until they are in the room and prepped for the abortion.» —“New South Dakota Bill...
carabao English n.— «Whenever you hear a non-native English speaker, a Filipino specifically, uttering broken “carabao” English, or a version you are not used to hearing, please reserve your criticism.» —“World has more than one English” by Eric...
