Is the booty as in shake your booty related to a pirate’s booty? The booty that means “derriere” is an alteration of botty, which is itself an alteration of bottom. The booty that means “loot” or “plunder” derives from an Old Germanic word. It was...
Are there words and phrases that you misunderstood for an embarrassingly long time? Maybe you thought that money laundering literally meant washing drug-laced dollar bills, or that AM radio stations only broadcast in the morning? • A moving new...
In an earlier episode, Martha explained the origin of the expression to boot, meaning “in addition” or “besides.” That prompted an email from a listener wanting to know why we speak of booting a computer. Grant has the answer. This is part of a...
Does the expression to boot, as in “I’ll sell you this Hummer and throw in a free tank of gas to boot,” have anything to do with booting up a computer? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “To Boot” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Oh...
