All aboard! This week, a bit about the musical language of railroad conductors’ calls: “Anaheim, Azusa, and Cu-ca-monga!” Also, the origin of the military slang term cumshaw, tips for learning Latin, the influence of Spanish...
Hello and happy Ides of March! On this week's show, the topic was wedgie technique, specifically the difference between a "murphy" and a "melvin." We also talked about the origin of "mad props," the uses of...
The English word ouch is not universal. Michelle from Dallas, Texas, wondered whether people in all languages say it when they stub a toe, and the answer is no. Every language has its own short, vowel-heavy interjection. German speakers say autsch...
OMG, text messaging! It’s destroying the English language, corrupting young minds, turning us into illiterates. It’s probably shrinking the ozone layer, too. Or is it? In his new book, Txting: The Gr8 Db8, David Crystal offers a...
crabby adj.— «Last year NASCAR was trying to reduce the amount of lateral track alignment offset from the front to the rear wheels that teams were running in their COT set-ups, inducing what was known as “crabby cars.” The cars were...
toe pick n.— Note: From the name of the teeth on the front of an ice-skating blade. «Linebacker Lance Briggs was all smiles after the first 2-interception game of his NFL career, even when he discussed the second pick, when it looked as...