If you’re facing a Hobson’s choice, you don’t really have much to choose from. The phrase describes a situation in which your options are either to take what’s offered, or else take nothing at all. Martha offers some choice...
The death of Martha’s favorite cat Typo prompts her to reminisce about him, and about one of her favorite ailurophilic words, chatoyant.
If the word is spelled a-s-k, why do so many people pronounce ask as “axe”? Grant has a surprising answer, one that goes all the way back to, believe it or not, the time of Chaucer. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
blood border n.— «She began by citing the history of the drinking age becoming 21 and the problems along the way. In the process of making a unified law, many states set their own drinking ages, according to Meripolski. This set the stage...
way back n.—Gloss: the backmost area of a station wagon (British: estate car), usually used for portage or storage. «I dare say that most people who are parents now never rode in a car seat as children. Many of us didn’t even use the car...
dot n.— «Trudeau surveyed Brian’s intact arm. “You’ve got dots.” “Yeah.” Dots are soldier-speak for little beads of shrapnel buried under the skin. Sometimes they take a lifetime to work their way back to the...