Mary Gordon in Austin, Texas, shares a delightful story about her elderly father and a handful of vegetables, which raises the question: what’s the plural of squash? Squashes? Or squash? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
Katrina in Williamsburg, Virginia, asks if it’s pretentious to use the word said to describe something previously referred to. Using said to mean the aforesaid or the aforementioned is far more common in legal documents, but there’s nothing...
In parts of Pennsylvania, a late-spring dusting of light snow is called onion snow. It’s a reference to the way little green onion shoots are poking through the white. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Onion Snow”...
Quiz Guy John Chaneski puzzle this week is called “Three and a Match.” The challenge is to figure out three words from a common category—say, nationalities—that go with each of the three clues he mentions. If, for example, three clues...
aquaponics n.— «Susan Mahan and Steve Stansloski of Ocala volunteer with the foundation, which uses a method called aquaponics. The organization grows tilapia and vegetables together using hydroponics in a cyclical system.» —“Fish...
kill step n.— «Threatened with a federal shutdown, the pie maker, ConAgra Foods, began spot-checking the vegetables for pathogens, but could not find the culprit. It also tried cooking the vegetables at high temperatures, a strategy the...