First names like “Patience,” “Hope,” and “Charity” are inspired by worthy qualities. But how about “Be-courteous” or “Hate-evil”? The Puritans sometimes gave children such names hoping that...
We have collective nouns for animals, like “a gaggle of geese,” “a pride of lions,” and “an exaltation of larks.” So why not collective nouns for plants? How about a “greasing of palms,” or a...
In this episode, a listener says his friend Harold likes to do social phoning while driving, so he’s invented a term for mindless calling while in the car. And no, it’s not “car-pe diem.” Also, Martha and Grant also discuss...
This week, our puzzle guy Greg Pliska joins us for a game of “Spoonerisms,” or the shifting of the initial consonant sounds in a pair of words. For example, common undergraduate college degree and online auction site. Got it? This is...