The word nurdle, sometimes spelled nerdle, can be used to denote various “small bits of things,” such as styrofoam packing material or detritus in one’s pockets. It may be related to the word nodule. Like thingamabob and whatsit, the word nurdle...
What’s the origin of the word nerd, referring to “an unfashionable person”? Does it come from Dr. Seuss’s book If I Ran the Zoo? (Amazon). Incidentally, a nerdle is a dollop of toothpaste on a toothbrush. Sometimes spelled...
Susan, a dental student in Redlands, California, asks about acetabulum, the anatomical term for the hip socket. It goes back to the Latin acetabulum, a vinegar cup, the small table vessel Romans used for dipping bread. Its cup shape made a natural...
Grant shares Tom Swifties sent in by listeners: “Aw, shucks, I dropped the toothpaste,” Tom said crestfallenly, and “I’ve located the experts,” Tom said profoundly. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
In an earlier episode, we discussed linguistic false friends, those words in foreign languages that look like familiar English words, but mean something quite different. Martha reads an email response from a listener who learned the hard way that in...
nurdle n. a grain, pellet, granule, or other small piece of a material, especially as part of a large quantity (such as foam kernels used as packing material); (in pronunciation-based spellings) a nodule; a quantity of a gel or semi-solid; a thing...