If you need proof that language is powerful, here’s some. Researchers at Cornell recently reported that kids are more likely to eat their veggies if they’re told the food has enticing names like “X-ray Vision Carrots” and “Dinosaur Broccoli Trees.”...
If you’re in New Zealand and are told to “rattle your dags,” you’d better get a move on. Literally, though, the expression has to do with sheep butts. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Rattle Your Dags” Hello, you have A Way with...
Brent from San Diego asks why the expression “keep your eyes peeled” uses peeled, and whether it has anything to do with birds of prey opening their eyes. The phrase is spelled P-E-E-L, and its likely 19th-century sense is simply that the eyelids...
A man whose last name is McCoy wants a definitive answer about the origin of the expression “the real McCoy.” He’s been told it comes from the name of turn-of-the-century boxing champ Kid McCoy. Is that really the case? Grant and Martha reference...
dog paw n.— «He was charged in common law robbery in Benson for the gang attacks and when we interviewed him, he had insignia on his right arm burned in.…It was a group of three circles they refer to as “dog paws,” and he said he burned himself and...
frequent flyer n.— «Contestant #2 should have been named “Mr. Drug Seeker”—amazing how an hour after 2 Percocet’s, somebody’s pain, which had been at an “8,” was suddenly up to a “8.5.” Whatever. I assessed him, couldn’t find anything that would...
