The words tough, through, and dough all end in O-U-G-H. So why don’t they rhyme? A lively new book addresses the many quirks of English by explaining the history of words and phrases. And: have you ever been in a situation where a group makes...
When there’s no evening meal planned at home, what do you call that scramble to cobble together your own dinner? Some people apply acronyms like YOYO — “you’re on your own” — or CORN, for “Clean Out your Refrigerator...
A librarian opens a book and finds a mysterious invitation scribbled on the back of a business card. Another discovers a child’s letter to the Tooth Fairy, tucked into a book decades ago. What stories are left untold by these forgotten...
Joan from Dallas, Texas, wants to know why some people are judgmental about people who speak with a glottal stop in such words as cattle, bottle, or even glottal itself. She noted a commenter on TikTok criticizing a Scottish woman for pronouncing...
Cathy from San Antonio, Texas, notes that many Spanish words come from the Nahuatl language, including the words for “tomato,” “sweet potato,” and “avocado,” which are tomate, camote, and aguacate, respectively...
After our discussion of joking ways to say grace before a meal, Al from Denton, Texas, shares the story of a curmudgeon’s highly efficient one: Much obliged. This is part of a complete episode.