Stacey from Chelsea, Massachusetts, says her grandfather, a Russian immigrant who grew up on New York City’s Lower East Side, used to warn his grandkids with what sounded like Don’t be a come-upper after he’d cleaned the apartment. The expression...
Quiz Guy John Chaneski came across the term hugger-mugger, which inspired a puzzle with answers that involve two words, each ending in -er. For example, in the past these were attached using a sticky surface, but these days they’re made from magnets...
Elbow grease isn’t a product you can buy at the hardware store. If a task demands elbow grease, that just means whatever you’re doing requires hard work that might result in sweat. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Elbow Grease”...
thump snow n.— «In the areas that will get clobbered by all snow with the lead dog, it is really going to be what we affectionately refer to as a “thump” snow. In other words, the vertical motion associated with the surface storm, the thermal...

