Rod in LaPorte, Indiana, has Welsh ancestry, and always wondered if the expressions to welsh on a bet suggests that the Welsh are dishonest. The verb to welsh and the noun welsher are indeed mild ethnic slurs. To welsh dates back to at least the...
The US Southern nickname whistle britches likely started with corduroy trousers, whose wales make a soft whistling or swishing sound as a wearer walks. Marshall from Point, Texas, heard his East Texas grandfather use it for men who seemed...
There’s a proper noun out there that rhymes with orange, and it’s The Blorenge, a hill in Wales. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Rhymes with Orange” Grant, I was so excited this week to learn about a...
What is a madcap comedy? A fan of classics like Bringing up Baby wonders about the origin of the term. Martha explains that years ago, the word cap sometimes referred to one’s “head.” So if someone’s “madcap,”...
pontypool n.— Note: Named for town in Wales. «Tole is sometimes called japanned ware, pontypool or toleware. Whatever it’s called, it’s painted tin.» —“Dishes, other pieces used colorful milk glass” by Ralph Kovel, Terry...
personal Everest n.— «We awoke at dawn resembling damp tramps but feeling as if we had climbed a personal Everest of endurance…well maybe a Pen y Fan. Gordon Brown has his opinions on what defines courage. In my book, it’s spending...