Is a purple squirrel a) a diving board trick, b) a cocktail, or c) a rare job candidate with all the right qualifications? The answer is c. There have, however, been reports of purple squirrels of the sciurine variety. This is part of a complete...
What do you say when you answer the telephone? On the NPR science blog, “Krulwich Wonders,” Robert Krulwich notes that hello did not become a standard greeting until the Edison Company recommended the word as a proper phone greeting. Before that...
Quiz Guy John Chaneski has a game of rhyming headlines based on the 1937 Variety issue, “Sticks Nix Hick Pix,” claiming that rural folks avoid movies about rural folks. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Rhyming Headlines Quiz”...
In the film industry, the expression meet cute refers to “an overly precious first encounter between the romantic leads.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Meet Cute” Hi, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is Kelly Radke from Green...
Obamanomics
n.— «Even financial cabler CNBC has a play, tagging a segment last week “Obamanomics.”» —“Hail to the campaign coin” by Michael Learmonth Variety Jan. 28, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Lee from Philadelphia’s green Amazon parrot is named Alexander Hamilton, not Polly, but strangers still greet him with Polly want a cracker? The joke is old: Poll was a nickname for parrots as far back as the 1600s, and by 1848 the cracker line was...

