Martha from Tallahassee, Florida, remembers hearing older relatives announce they were going for their constitutional, a term that traces back to Latin constitutio, meaning “character,” “disposition,” “nature,” or “the essence of a thing.” Its...
Ashley in Tallahassee, Florida, says some friends find it odd that she refers to her husband as Dad even when their daughter isn’t around. Is it weird to address your spouse that way? In some cultures, parents are addressed differently after their...
It’s hard to remember how to spell the names of some cities. Tallahassee, Florida, for example. Then there are towns with very few letters to remember. Y, a tiny town in northern France, has only two main streets, which come together to form the...
Since the late 19th century, the word scrumbunctious has been used to describe someone who is energetic or high-spirited. Scrumbunctious is probably a portmanteau of scrumptious and rambunctious. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
Zack in Tallahassee, Florida, wonders: Why do we use the name John Doe to refer to someone anonymous or unknown? The names John Doe and Richard Roe go back to at least the 1300s, when they were used in land-related legal matters as pseudonyms for...
After our conversation about funny street names, listeners chime in with more: In Tallahassee, Florida, there’s a Frankie Lane and a Lois Lane; in Batesville, Arkansas, you can meet up at the intersection of Gwinn and Barrett; Boulder Creek...