“Scat, Tom! Get your tail out of the gravy!” In some parts of the country, especially the South, people say this after someone sneezes. But what does a cat warming its tail in the gravy boat have to do with sneezing? This is part of a...
What does it mean to have your tail over the dashboard? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Tail Over the Dashboard” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, my name is Kathleen Elberson, and I’m calling from Grayson...
plumage paradox n.— «My original instinct to buy the best is what I call the plumage paradox. A peacock’s dilemma is that having a large, beautiful tail attracts females, but it also attracts predators. The message the tail sends to the...
white tail n.— «The bigger worry for both Airbus and Boeing are the dreaded “white tails,” jets that come off the assembly line with no waiting buyers because the airline that ordered them has canceled or gone out of business...
tail swallowing n.— «More than two million HBOS shareholders will soon have to make a decision about whether they might be throwing good money after bad if they subscribe to the bank’s £4bn rights issue.…If you do not have enough...
Bop-lop-a-boom-bop lop-bam-boom. It's another issue of the A Way with Words newsletter! This past weekend we aired an episode in which a caller told us that she finds the word "moist" repugnant. She's not...