Dexter in Clintonville, Alabama, reports that his Minnesota-born wife was baffled after she sneezed and he responded with Scat cat! Across the American South, this phrase and variations of it serve as an informal response when someone sneezes. Other...
Holly from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, remembers her grandmother loading family dinners with pepper and saying they wouldn’t get the pip. The pepper appears to be a folk-remedy flourish, not part of the word’s origin. The pip, also the pips, has...
A money spider, also known as a money spinner, is a tiny arachnid that dangles from a thread overhead. Don’t swat at it! According to folklore, if it lands on you, you’ll come into money. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
Laura in San Diego, California, wonders about the tradition of performers saying Toi toi toi to each other backstage to wish each other a good performance. It’s possible that it derives from the ancient idea that spitting three times can ward...
Megan from Seal Beach, California, adores her red-headed daughter, but now that Megan’s remarried, she and her family are mulling the phrase I’m going to beat you like a red-headed stepchild. Other versions include a red-haired stepchild...
Deviled eggs, those hard-boiled eggs seasoned with a variety of ingredients, such as chopped pickles or pepper, are sometimes called dressed eggs, particularly in the Southern United States. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
