In California, everybody gets a little crazy when those hot, dry winds called Santa Anas start blowing. A caller asks the origin of the name. Is it a translation of Spanish for “Satan’s wind”? By the way, here’s that list of...
gumbander n.— Note: “Gum band” is a term for a rubberband that is common to Pittsburgh and elsewhere in Pennsylvania. «Instead, people who are now exploring start-up or self-employment opportunities find the prospect of...
Greg Pliska adds an apt and all-round admirably appealing appraisal of alliterative ability. Meaning, our Puzzle Guy presents a quiz about words that start with the same letters. May we just say that Greg gives great game? This is part of a complete...
A New York caller is incensed by the verb incent and a California listener is puzzled when his Southern relatives observe that his new baby is fixing to tune up whenever she’s about to start crying. This is part of a complete episode.
start-me-up n.— «Start-Me-Ups—these are youngsters starting out and on the way up: most are single and childless and in the 18 to 29 year age group with a male and white-collar job bias—they like fun and parties.» —“The new black...
redshirt v.— «After the morning announcements and the Pledge of Allegiance, Andersen’s kindergartners sat down on a blue rug. Two, one boy and one girl, had been redshirted—the term, borrowed from sports, describes students held out for a...