To sell wolf tickets, or woof tickets, is to lie, bluff, brag, talk big, or challenge someone without really meaning to fight. The expression likely draws on the old tale of the boy who cried wolf, and known uses go back to the 1940s. The woof...
If you’re sending out party invitations, what’s a sure-fire way to get hold of everyone? Email? Snailmail? Facebook? Texting? Twitter? Or a plain old-fashioned phone call? Different folks have different communication preferences, and...
The slang threat “I’ll butter your necktie!” was made famous by the 1950 film Harvey. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “I’ll Butter Your Necktie!” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hello, my name is...
In need of a creative insult? There’s always “When I’m done with you, there won’t be enough left of you to snore.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Enough Left to Snore” We’ve talked...
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Martin Luther King Jr. wrote those words in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail. The hosts discuss this and other modern proverbs with staying power. This is part of a complete...
third-hand smoke n.— «Parents who smoke often open a window or turn on a fan to clear the air for their children, but experts now have identified a related threat to children’s health that isn’t as easy to get rid of: third-hand smoke...