Daniel in Youngstown, Ohio, reports that his grandfather used an odd expression when the whole family left the house: We’re off like a herd of turtles — or a turd of hurtles! The first part of the expression is one of several similarly silly...
Writers and where they do their best creative work. A new book on Geoffrey Chaucer describes the dark, cramped, smelly room where he wrote his early work. Which raises the question: What kind of space do you need to produce your best writing...
Do you say something happened on accident or by accident? Is text-messaging destroying our kids’ writing ability? Where do horseradish, zarf, and ignoramus come from?
Here’s a bit of campus slang accompanied by a hand gesture: awkward turtle. Grant explains what it means and how it’s used. This is part of a complete episode.
turtle n.— «A sewer is a slippery workplace. Water can move at the speed of oncoming traffic, even when it is not laden with tree branches, two-by-fours and the waste products known in the business as “turtles.”» —“Working in the...
hurricane ham n.— «In the same way that Tuna is called “chicken of the sea,” Floridians called the sea turtle “turkey of the sea.” Conchs are still called “hurricane hams.” Sponges are...