If you skip wearing underwear, you’re said to be going commando. This bit of slang originated during the Vietnam War, when U.S. commandos had compelling reasons to do without that particular piece of clothing. Plus, Watergate salad is a...
Christine in Charleston, South Carolina, recounts a funny story about someone who was planning to go commando, meaning “to go without underwear.” What’s the origin of that phrase? This is part of a complete episode.
If you speak both German and Spanish, you may find yourself reaching for a German word instead of a Spanish one, and vice versa. This puzzling experience is so common among polyglots that linguists have a name for it. • The best writers create...
When it comes to joining Facebook affinity groups, grammar lovers have lots of choices. Take, for example, the group whose motto is “Punctuation saves lives.” It’s called “Let’s Eat Grandma!” or “Let’s...
A Japanese idiom, referring to someone who takes credit for another’s work, translates as “doing sumo in someone else’s underwear.” This is part of a complete episode.
When someone grabs your underwear from behind and gives it a good, vertical yank, it’s called a wedgie. A caller knows that term, but wonders whether and how a wedgie differs from a murphy or a melvin. This is part of a complete episode.