A Burlington, Vermont, caller wants to know: Is horseradish so named because of this root’s strong resemblance to part of a horse’s anatomy? This is part of a complete episode.
condimaniac n.— «Condimaniac…a person affected by a mania for condiments; one whose cabinets and refrigerator doors are filled with an excess of food seasonings, e.g.,— “He’s such a condimaniac, he brought his own Dijon...
anting n.— «The behavior you witnessed, Mona, is called “anting.” I know it seems like it should be called “mothballing,” but anting is much easier to say. Plus, more often than not, birds rub their feathers with...
house n.— «He also has become less interested in “getting a little house,” a term for attention-getting, applause-generating devices musicians use, such as playing a passage at super speed or holding a high note for a long...
wags n.pl.— «Pictures of the wives and girlfriends (or Wags as the FA’s acronym calls them) of the Euro 2004 England team, or of the wives and girlfriends of the 1999 US Ryder Cup team, for instance, show a classic feminine look where...
utzy adj.— «Mr. Graff, now 53, thought he had retired back in 1999 when he sold Spice to Playboy TV for a neat $100 million, moved to a small town near the Berkshires and took over an old country store. “I sliced bologna, sold mice...