Bobbie in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, wonders about the expression What’s the lowdown?, meaning “What’s happening?” Lowdown, meaning “the skinny,” “the scoop,” or “the details” originated in the idea of something low-down being “dirty” or “naughty” or otherwise “close to the ground.” When it was first used to mean “information,” the implication was that the information itself was base, or that the act of sharing the information was naughty. This is part of a complete episode.
When you’re talking about the location of an inanimate object, is it okay to say that it lives there, as in The peanut butter lives in that cabinet or The flashlight lives on that shelf? Strictly speaking, of course, that object isn’t...
Sean in Oneonta, New York, says that when he was growing up in New Jersey, his family would pile in the car and set off on a surprise adventure, whether a short distance or long, and the kids would be told only that they were going on Buxtehude...
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