When you had sleepovers as a child, what did you call the makeshift beds you made on the floor? In some places, you call those bedclothes and blankets a pallet. This word comes from an old term for “straw.” And: What’s the story...
Someone who’s towheaded has very light blond hair. Tow is an old word for flax, and flaxen-haired is a synonym for towheaded. Towheaded can also describe someone with tousled hair. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
Why do we say something is jet black? It doesn’t have anything to do with aircraft. The jet in jet black is the name of a black semi-precious stone, which in turn takes its name from the part of Syria where it was found in abundance in antiquity...
A fair-haired listener has been puzzled by the origin of a word she’s heard all her life: “tow-headed.” And no, it has nothing to do with the digits on one’s feet. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Tow...