Did you ever wonder why we capitalize the pronoun “I,” but not any other pronoun? Also, the romantic story behind the term halcyon days, the origin of the phrase “like white on rice,” and the linguistic scuttlebutt on the word scuttlebutt. Plus, a...
What’s in a pet’s name? Martha and Grant swap stories about how they came up with names for their dogs. Also this week: Have you ever been called a stump-jumper? How about a snicklefritz? And what’s the last word in the dictionary? Depending on...
What do you say if you have guests over and someone in your family has stray food left on the face? In some households, the secret warning is “there’s a gazelle on the lawn.” But why a gazelle? Also, this week: the term for a party to introduce...
Martha shares a great automotive Tom Swifty sent in by a listener. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Automotive Tom Swifty” Grant, the Tom Swifties keep coming into our mailbox, and I have a couple of others from listeners that are...
Martha tries to stump Grant with another Tom Swifty, this one nautical in nature. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Nautical Tom Swifty” Grant, I have another Tom Swifty for you. Yes. Go to the back of the boat, the captain said. I...
Martha shares a couple of Tom Swifties, those funny sentences that make great punny use of adverbs, like “‘My bicycle wheel is damaged,’ Tom said outspokenly.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Bicycle Tom Swifty” A little later in...
