Here’s a sly Southernism for Sundays: “Each one of his sermons is better than the next.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Sly Southern Insult” We’ve talked before, Grant, on the show about how if you’re saying something in a...
If Sam and them are going to be here after while, can the “and them” mean just one additional person? In some parts of the country, it could be Sam’s wife, or Sam’s entire softball team. A listener from Texas shares this charming colloquialism. This...
All aboard! This week, a bit about the musical language of railroad conductors’ calls: “Anaheim, Azusa, and Cu-ca-monga!” Also, the origin of the military slang term cumshaw, tips for learning Latin, the influence of Spanish immigrants on English...
What’s the possessive of y’all? Is it y’all’s? Y’alls? Y’alls’s? What do all ya’ll think?
A caller wonders why his North Carolina-born partner uses the phrase “I’d have liked to” instead of “I almost” or “I nearly,” as in “I’d have liked to died laughing.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Southern Phrase “I’d Have Liked...
Humorist Roy Blount Jr. stops by to try his hand at a slang quiz specifically about Southernisms.