“What has a head like a cat, feet like a cat, a tail like a cat, but isn’t a cat?” Answer: a kitten! A 1948 children’s joke book has lots of these to share with kids. Plus: an easy explanation for the difference between...
Why do we use the plural for pieces of clothing worn below the waist, like trousers, pants, shorts, and jeans? This is part of a complete episode.
When someone’s fly is down, do you say XYZ for “Examine your zipper”? For a change of pace, you might try another euphemistic expression used the Southern United States and South Midlands: Is your finger sore? As in, Is your finger...
Fess up: do you have a pet name for your car? How about your computer? Martha and Grant discuss the urge to give nicknames to inanimate objects in our lives. Also, why do we speak of vetting a political candidate? And what in the world is a zoo...
This week’s “Slang This!” contestant from the National Puzzlers’ League tries to decipher the difference between zoo planes and zipper clippers. She also puzzles over a sentence in which the words brindle and verse used in...
zipper n.— «When he was running around shirtless this summer, Wyatt realized most other kids don’t have surgical scars—or “zippers,” as he calls them.» —“Fighting cancer, as a patient and a lobbyist” by Nina...