The Dictionary of Newfoundland English offers a look at some intriguing vocabulary from that part of the world, such as the expression “best kind,” meaning “in the best state or condition.” This is part of a complete episode...
If you play with fire, you’ll pee the bed is one of those parental warnings built less on logic than on knowing your audience. Carrie in South Central Kentucky heard it locally, then learned that a young man from Brazil knew the same idea. Folklore...
There are two kinds of readers in the world: those who blow past a word they don’t know, and those who drop everything, run to the dictionary, and dig and dig until they figure out what in the world something like pagophilic means. Yes, we...
A Word-Book of Virginia Folk Speak from 1912 includes this gem: “Bachelors’ wives and old maid’s children are the best people in the world.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Best People in the...
tinterweb n. the (web-based) Internet. Editorial Note: Although this term began in, and is still most common in, the United Kingdom, where such contractions are more plausible and familiar, it has spread to other parts of the Anglosphere...