A 1904 dialect collection tipped us off to this variation on the idea of going to the land of milk and honey: “Going to find the honey spring and the flitter tree,” flitter being a variant of fritter, as in something fried and delicious...
Greetings! In this week's archive edition (more about that in a moment) we discuss "bring" vs. "take," Facebook groups for grammar lovers, and singing the lyrics of "Amazing Grace" over the melody of...
A caller wonders if the Spanish and Arabic articles el and al spring from the same linguistic root. This is part of a complete episode.
trophy jacket
n.— «Embellished, beaded, military or brocade—trophy jackets are spring/summer 2009’s mush have fashion piece.» —“Trophy Jackets” Vogue.com Spring/Summer, 2009. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
riffed adj.—Gloss: Laid off via a reduction in force (RIF). «TUSD rehires 88% of riffed teachers […] Last spring TUSD gave pink slips to 562 teachers. This summer it rehired 498 of them.» —“TUSD rehires 88% of riffed...
barbecue summer n.— «After the spring bounce, summer has been a washout for investors. Those of us who were hoping for a barbecue summer on the bourses have been left staring glumly at cloudy skies.» —“After the summer washout...