Mary Gordon in Austin, Texas, shares a delightful story about her elderly father and a handful of vegetables, which raises the question: what’s the plural of squash? Squashes? Or squash? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
Quiz Guy John Chaneski puzzle this week is called “Three and a Match.” The challenge is to figure out three words from a common category—say, nationalities—that go with each of the three clues he mentions. If, for example, three clues...
three-sister planting n.— «Imitating a traditional Iroquois practice called “three-sister planting,” the farm plants corn, beans and squash together. The beans fix nitrogen into the soil that corn depletes while the corn’s stalk enables...
clearing n.— «He has noticed that Mr. Rumsfeld, 74, often wins points because, after hitting a shot, he does not get out of the way so his opponent has a chance to return the ball, a practice known in squash as “clearing...