Judy from Huntsville, Alabama, recalls her stepmother’s words of encouragement: He that hath a horn to toot and tooteth it not, the same shall not be tooted. This faux-formal bit of advice goes back at least to the 1850s. A variation goes: Toot your...
Cindy from Henderson, Kentucky, enjoys a wonderful relationship with her ex-husband’s new wife, and she’s looking for a word to indicate their special connection. The sister of your husband is your sister-in-law, of course, but what’s a good word...
Stepmother’s blessing is a slang term for hangnail. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Stepmother’s Blessing” When it comes to lots of languages, stepmothers get a bad rap. Do you know what a stepmother’s blessing is? I don’t know...
A stepmother slice, according to a 1915 citation in the Dictionary of American Regional English, is a slice of bread that’s too thick to bite. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Stepmother Slice” I was just paging through the...
