Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Although there are many proposed etymologies for the word copacetic, the truth is no one knows the origin of this word meaning “fine” or “extremely satisfactory.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
If someone sneezes while you’re saying something, a Yiddish speaker might say “G’nossem tsum emes,” or “The sneeze confirmed the truth,” meaning that what you just said is true, and the sternutation proves it. An English speaker expresses the same...
The word “canvassing,” as in, going door-to-door passing out political information, has an obscure etymology. It’s thought to be related to the use of canvas material either for sifting things out or tossing someone in the air. Either way, it...
The Little House on the Prairie series was actually a collaboration between Laura Ingalls Wilder and her daughter Rose Wilder Lane, who turns out to have been a bit of a bully. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Rose Wilder Lane”...
A listener from Fairfield, Connecticut, wonders why she changes her accent and diction when family members from the Middle East are in town. Truth it, everyone does this. It’s a matter of imitating those around us in order to make ourselves feel...
Aesthetes might go for kalology, or “the study of beauty.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Kalology” I tested you on aletheology earlier and you got it right. It was the study of truth. Yes. How about this one? Okay. Kalology. K-A...
