Theresa in Lyman, South Carolina, says her mother has long used the word quare to describe someone who is “odd” or “set in their ways” or otherwise “peculiar,” as in They’re the quarest people I’ve ever met. The term quare, also spelled quar...
Jacob in Dallas, Texas, remembers his grandfather used to talk about someone having a come-apart, meaning “having a breakdown” or “freaking out.” It’s not a common phrase, but it’s widespread enough that it appears in newspaper archives at least as...
You walk into a used bookstore, or pull down an old volume at the library, and there it is: The smell of old books. If you detect notes of vanilla in that intoxicating scent, there’s a reason. Also, why some people think the word awesome is...
Do the verb phrases share out and explain out have a special, nuanced meaning in the worlds of business and education? Or are they jargon to be avoided? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Business and Educational Jargon” Hello, you...