Environmentalists have combined black swan with white elephant to form the term black elephant, meaning “something likely to happen that will have a detrimental impact.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Black Elephants” Have you...
What do you call a gift that turns into a hassle, like a gift card for a store not in your area, or one with a pressing expiration date? A New York caller suggests the term gaft. Another possibility is white elephant, a term derived from the story...
Why do spelling bees include such bizarre, obsolete words as cymotrichous? Why is New York called the Big Apple? Also, the stinky folk medicine tradition called an asifidity bag, the surprising number of common English phrases that come directly...