The slang term 4-55 air conditioning is means cooling a car by driving fast with all the windows down. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Air Conditioning With a Do-It-Yourself Crank: 4-55” A friend in Phoenix just taught...
A South Carolina teen calls to ask why the English language has a word meaning “to throw someone out of a window,” but no word for “the day after tomorrow.” The word defenestrate, from Latin fenestra, “window,”...
Doorwall was once used in many parts of the United States for “sliding glass door,” although the term now seems to have settled largely in parts of Michigan. In the American Southwest, these doors are sometimes called arcadia doors. This...
An eight-year-old from San Diego wonders about the origin of the term bullseye. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Bullseye Origin” Hello, you have a wait with words. Hello, my name is Jack. I’m calling from San...
For all the Gothic architecture fans out there—hold onto the term ogival, which means “having the form of a pointed arch.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of ““Ogival” Means Shaped Like a Pointed Arch” Grant, how about the...
When wine drinkers swirl their glass and watch those streaks coming down, they say they’re looking at the legs. But the German term kirchenfenster, meaning “church windows,” makes a great substitute because of the arches of church...