Joseph in Houma, Louisiana, serves in the Coast Guard, shares a story about asking for directions when he was en route to an oil spill deep in Cajun Country. A local crawfisherman told him to go down the turning, twisting bayou for about four...
If someone spilled a box of paper clips, for example, would you say that they wasted the paper clips, even though the clips could be picked up and re-used? Although most people wouldn’t, this sense of waste meaning “to spill” is...
Are fairy tales too scary for children? A survey of parents in Britain found that more than half wouldn’t read them to their children before age five. Martha and Grant discuss the grisly imagery in fairy tales, and whether they’re too...
“Don’t tump over the canoe!” The verb to tump is familiar to folks in many parts of the United States. Use it elsewhere, though, and you might get some quizzical looks. What does it mean and who uses it? The hosts tump over their...
spill-over bill n.— «One of the rites of passage for legislators is a vote that occurs near the end of each legislative year on what is known as the “spill-over” bill. This is a massive spending bill that is used as a way to dole out...
shoot n.— «That’s the point where you give up and decide to wear thick tights and Ugg boots for the remainder of the winter. That, or I might succumb to the allure of the new shoe-boots—or shoots, as they call them—and just let my calves...