The slang expression “No Tea, No Shade,” meaning “No disrespect, but …” is common in the drag community, where T means “truth.” The related phrase “All Tea, All Shade,” means “This statement is...
Megan from Billings, Montana, asks what to call the foam sleeve that slips over a can: cozy, koozie, coozy, kozy, or another spelling. The word traces back to tea cozy, the knitted or padded cover that keeps a teapot warm, traditionally pronounced...
Is it cheating to say you’ve read a book if you only listened to it on tape? Over the centuries, the way we think about reading has changed a lot. There was a time, for example, when reading silently was considered strange. Plus, what do you...
Christina from Phoenix, Arizona, asks whether chai tea is redundant, since chai can mean tea in other languages. In U.S. English, chai has narrowed to mean solely a spiced tea, so chai tea works as a specific kind of tea rather than a mistake, no...
Martha has a follow-up to an earlier call about why hairstylists advise clients to use product on their hair. At least in the food business, product often refers to the item before it’s ready for consumption. For example, coffee grounds might...
Joanne from Wilmot, Ohio, was stumped by a crossword clue for the expression suit to a tee, because she expected the answer to be T-E-A, as in the drink. The idiom is spelled to a tee or to a T, and it dates back to the 17th century. One likely...