Steve from Wilmington, North Carolina, wonders about a phrase his mother used: “Everybody to their taste,” said the old lady as she kissed the cow, meaning “Different things appeal to different individuals.” It’s an example of a Wellerism, a joking...
Daniel in Wilmington, North Carolina, notes that in English, we literally break the fast in the morning, the source of the English word breakfast. In the same way, the Spanish word for “breakfast,” desayuno, comes from desayunar, meaning “not...
Steven in Wilmington, North Carolina, is curious about the terms hankering and unbolted cornmeal. The noun hankering, meaning “a strong desire for something,” is related to the verb “to hang,” as in “hanging around” in hopes of obtaining something...
Omar in Wilmington, North Carolina, says that when he was growing up in Pakistan, he and fellow cricket players referred to their team captain as the skipper. The term skipper, or skip, originated in seafaring terminology and now applies to the...
Evelyn in Wilmington, North Carolina, says that when she and her older sister were sassy to their parents, her mother would say either You’re getting too big for your britches or I’m going to bring you down a buttonhole lower. The former makes...
Lisa in Wilmington, North Carolina, grew up hearing her grandmother warn, “We’re not going to have any who struck John in this house,” meaning stop the cutting up and settle down. Traditionally, who struck John refers to a pointless argument over...
