Do Americans use the same sign language as the British? And what do Japanese people use instead of umm? Plus, why do we vote at polling places? What goes into file 13? All this, a word quiz, commode vs. toilet, saditty and bougie, and cute stuff...
Charles in Virginia asks about breaking bad, a phrase he grew up hearing to mean “raise hell,” “get wild,” or stop being nice, as in threatening to “break bad on” someone. Vince Gilligan, a Virginian, made the expression nationally familiar with the...
A listener from Charlottesville, Virginia, is dating a professional golfer who often plays a Calcutta with other tour members. Calcutta, a betting game going back over 200 years, involves every player betting before the tournament on who they think...
Old Ed’ards sayings (from old Edward, and also spelled old Eddard or old Eddered) were plentiful in the 1930s, when the Lum and Abner radio show was a hit in households across the country. Lum Edwards, who made up half of the cornball duo...
Leanne in Richmond, Virginia, heard sitting high and looking low in a Social Security office, where it seemed to describe an employee acting superior to people waiting for help. The expression is used mostly in African American contexts and is...
Leah from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, asks why the peninsula shared by Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia is called Delmarva. The name is a geographic portmanteau, built from Del-, mar-, and -va, much like nearby blended place names such as Delmar and...