Following up on our conversation about the expression Can’t died in a cornfield and its many variants, Todd from Woodstock, Virginia, adds his father’s version of this advice: Can’t never could, Won’t never will. This is part...
In southeastern Virginia, a come-here is “an outsider” or “someone who recently moved to the area.” This is part of a complete episode.
An ornithologist says there’s a growing movement to change the name of a pink-footed bird currently called the flesh-footed shearwater. The movement reflects a growing understanding that using flesh-colored for “pink” fails to...
Susan in Virginia Beach, Virginia, says that whenever she looked sad as a child, her grandmother would say she looked like somebody licked the red off her candy. This phrase goes back at least to the 1920s, and refers to licking the red coloring off...
Julia in Norfolk, Virginia, wants a verb that denotes the act of making something simple unnecessarily complicated, particularly in a work setting. Some possibilities: complexify, befoul, bemuddle, and embrangle. This is part of a complete episode.
Rob calls from the Chesapeake Bay area of Virginia to discuss the lingo of crabbing. A male blue crab is a jimmy, and a female is called a sook, a silk, or sow. A crab that’s unsuitable for market because its flesh isn’t firm, it’s...