Pet names often take a while to settle, then keep changing. A tiny Maltese-poodle mix arrived as Mitzi, nearly became Daisy or Cucaracha, and finally became Lily, a name easy to call out in the urgent phrase “Lily, no!” A Great Pyrenees named Bandy...
Grant answers a letter from a listener who wonders if it’s ever correct to use the word fishes instead of fish. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Fish vs. Fishes” Mark, as you know, our email box is overflowing...
tar-tar n.— Note: “Toi toi” is a type of grass native to New Zealand, as described here, although there is at least one species of bird native to the country, the North Island tomtit, that is of the subspecies “toitoi...
liberal lion n.— «When last seen on the House floor, Rep. Pete McCloskey could be found demanding the impeachment of President Nixon, helping write the Endangered Species Act and denouncing the Vietnam War. It’s been a few years since the...
bucket biologist n.— «There’s a term for people who transplant fish into a body of water where they don’t belong: They’re called “bucket biologists.”» —“Idaho Fights Invasive Species With Drawdown, Poison” by...
cat face n.— «Atzet stopped again, to drill into the bulging bark of a cat-faced sugar pine. The cat face is a ring of bulging bark that has grown to heal a scar left by a fire. Because the healing bark is loaded with pitch, it tends to...
