How did the first person to say a dirty word know it was a dirty word? Geoffrey Hughes’ Encyclopedia of Swearing is a great source on this. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “The First Dirty Word” Hello, you have A...
Jerry in San Diego, a food server, heard a coworker vent in the kitchen with sacapuntas, Spanish for pencil sharpener. The word works as mock profanity because it sounds forceful without being obscene, and in parts of Mexico, including Baja and...
What do you say when you’re frustrated? There’s always, “I’ll be jumped up and down, bowlegged, and Johnny Busheart!” Or “For cryin’ out loud and weepin’ in public!” This is part of a complete...
The old word wittol refers to a man who knows that his wife is having an affair and is okay with it. The behavior still exists today, but almost no one knows the word. A caller in Albany, New York, wonders why. This is part of a complete episode...
For 341 years, the poets laureate of Britain have all been male. That just changed with the appointment of Britain’s new poet laureate, Carol Ann Duffy. Her work has been described as “dealing with the darkest turmoil and the lightest...
When you hear the F-word in a modern Hollywood movie about life in an earlier century, you may wonder if this expletive is an anachronism. Is the F-word of recent vintage, or did Hollywood actually get right this time? Grant recommends a book on the...