How did Nimrod, the name of a mighty hunter and a great grandson of Noah, come to mean a lamebrain idiot? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Nimrod” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi. Hi, who’s this? Hi, this is Kathy. Hi, Kathy...
The idea of digging a hole to China surfaces as early as 1872 in a Chamber’s Journal fiction piece about beavers and engineers. Unfortunately, digging from almost anywhere in the United States would lead you to open water on the other end. To dig...
The biblical king Jehoshaphat is the inspiration for the exclamation “jumpin’ Jehosaphat!” This alliterative idiom probably arose in the 19th century but was popularized by the cartoon character Yosemite Sam in the 20th century. This is part of a...
A listener from Tennessee has a saying that doesn’t quite land with his friends: “Is it any count?” Martha confirms that the phrase is most definitely Southern. It originates in the word “account,” and the question of whether something “adds up.”...
