Linda from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, gives directions to her remote home by telling people to turn left after the whoopsy-daisy, her term for a sudden dip in the road. There are quite a few colloquial expressions for such abrupt depression or bump in the pavement, including thank-you-ma’am, yes-ma’am, and how-do-you-do, all suggesting the nodding motion of a passenger’s head when going over it. Other terms are dippity-do, dipsy-do, belly-tickler, duck-and-dip, and whoop-de-doo. In the Ozarks, these spots are sometimes called kiss-me-quicks and love holes because of the opportunity they afford for a quick smooch. This is part of a complete episode.
What makes a great first line of a book? How do the best authors put together an initial sentence that draws you in and makes you want to read more? We’re talking about the openings of such novels as George Orwell’s 1984...
To slip someone a mickey means to doctor a drink and give it to an unwitting recipient. The phrase goes back to Mickey Finn of the Lone Star Saloon in Chicago, who in the late 19th century was notorious for drugging certain customers and relieving...
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