Don’t break my plate or saw off my bench just yet is a colorful way of saying I’ll be back. It’s somewhat like the phrase he hung up his spoon, referring to someone who has died. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Don’t Break My...
A member of our Facebook group posted a photo of a box that left him completely puzzled until he realized that if you look at the word spoons upside down, it spells suoods. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Suoods Upside Down” On...
In Cantabrigian tradition, a wooden spoon was jokingly awarded to low achievers in mathematics. That practice later extended to other types of competitions. It’s also key to a heartwarming story about a charitable organization that arose from a...
We’ve spoken before about “It’ll be better when you’re married,” often used to console someone who just had a small scrape or cut. A Chicago-area listener wrote us to say that in such cases, her mom’s phrase was “Quick, get a spoon!” This is part of...
In English, we might say that someone born to a life of luxury was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. In Swedish, though, the image is different. Someone similarly spoiled is said to “slide in on a shrimp sandwich.” For more picturesque idioms...
A recent study found that some names crop up more frequently than others in certain professions. The name William is especially common among attorneys–and graphic designers include a higher-than-average number of Jessicas. Plus, picturesque idioms...