To grok something means “to understand it completely.” The word grok comes from a language spoken on the planet Mars—well, at least according to the science fiction writer who coined the term! Also, we know the meaning of the word trauma, but is there a word that denotes “the opposite of trauma”? Plus, if someone describes something as “wicked good,” they mean it’s extremely good, especially if they’re from New England. All that, plus cut to the chase, more super-short town names, a puzzle that involves lopping off letters, an Ethiopian proverb, hell strip vs. devil strip, words from the Norn language, corny, and more. This wicked good show’s as cool as 4-55 air conditioning!
This episode first aired March 15, 2025.
Ai, Ohio! Man, West Virginia! Are Not Exclamations But Places
After our conversation about towns with extremely short names, many listeners wrote to tell us about Why, Arizona. Others pointed out that there are towns called Ely in Iowa, Minnesota, and Nevada. Other super-short appellations include Rye, New York, along with Zap, North Dakota, and Man, West Virginia. Shorter still is the name of Ai, Ohio, with a population of just over 600.
Stranger With a Strange Word: Grok
Debbie from Crawfordsville, Florida, says that when she and her husband reach an impasse while working on something, they’ll say Let’s grok about it, which they use to mean “Let’s think about it.” Grok was coined by science fiction writer Robert Heinlein in his 1961 novel Stranger in a Strange Land (Bookshop|Amazon). Originally meaning “to drink,” grok also came to mean “to have a profound understanding of.” By the way, Grant mispronounces “Heinlein” during this segment. It should be /ˈhaɪn laɪn/ where both syllables rhyme with “line” or “mine.”
Cut to the Chase Means Get to What Everyone Wants
Rod in Alexandria, Louisiana, says that in his real estate business, cut to the chase means to “get to the bottom line.” In the early days of the movie industry, when a sagging plot could be livened up by cutting directly to an exciting or action-packed part, such as a high-speed chase.
Air Conditioning With a Do-It-Yourself Crank: 4-55
The slang term 4-55 air conditioning is means cooling a car by driving fast with all the windows down.
He’s a Competitive Quizzer and He Does Well on Tests?
Quiz Guy John Chaneski is back with another “Take-Off” game in which the object is to take one letter from a word suggested by a clue to form another word. In this case, the letter that’s to be taken off will always be an initial R. For example, what two words are suggested by the sentence He’s a star pitcher, but he really can’t run that fast?
Wicked is Very Fine Intensifying Adverb if You’re a New Englander
Since the 13th century, the adjective wicked has meant “bad” or “evil.” So why do people in New England use wicked as an intensifying adverb to mean “very” or “extremely”?
Hell Strip and Gardening Strip Aren’t Kinds of Skin Waxing
Following our conversation about the use of the term devil strip to denote the strip of land between sidewalk and street, listeners chimed in with other terms from their areas. In Portland, Maine, some people call it a hell strip. In Washington State, there’s a growing effort to replace the term parking strip, and instead call that area a gardening strip.
Emphasizing the Article Before a Noun by Nasalizing It
Jane in Denver, Colorado, notes some people using the term an in front of a word beginning with a consonant, as if to emphasize that word by modifying it with the incorrect definite article. That may be what’s happening in this scene from the movie Wayne’s World.
Pangram, the Redux Redux Redux
A Los Angeles, California, listener shares the following pangram, a succinct but understandable statement that contains all 26 letters of the alphabet: A quick fox jumps high / Vexing birds, zigzag winds fly / Haikus trap words, why?
To Concertina Like an Accordion
Fans of the popular British baking show know that you don’t want your many-layered cake to concertina, or “collapse like an accordion.” The verb concertina, in this sense, derives from the name of an accordion-like instrument.
Norn Words like Gruggy and Skump
The haunting new novel Clear (Bookshop|Amazon) by Carys Davies is set amid the Scottish Clearances of the 19th century, a relentless program of forced evictions that drove whole communities of tenant farmers off the land. The story concerns a Scotsman who struggles to communicate with one of the last speakers of Norn, a language of the Shetland Islands. The book includes a glossary of Norn words, such as leura, the “short, unreliable quiet between storms,” gruggy for “threatening weather,” and skump for “a fog bank.”
What Word Means the Opposite of Trauma?
Steven from San Antonio, Texas, seeks a word that means “the opposite of trauma.” Perhaps eustress, literally “good stress”? Or harmonization? Placid? Is there a better term for this?
A Chicken’s Dream
A listener who spent years in Ethiopia and Eritrea learning the Tigrinya language shares two sayings he learned there, both having to do with poultry. One translates as, “In its own good time an egg will walk on its own legs.” The other literally translates as “chicken’s dream” and means “a silly daydream.”
Corny, and Jokes in Your Seed Catalogs
The adjective corny describes someone or something “unsophisticated” or “naive.” This sense of corny goes back at least as far as the 1920s. Seed catalogs of the time often contained bits of goofy jokes and broad humor described as corny. In addition, terms like corn fed, cornpone, and cornball were all associated with rustic life and urban dwellers’ stereotypes of rural inhabitants as less than intelligent.
Alley-Oop and Hoopla
Michelle in Williamsburg, Virginia, wonders about the origin of alley-oop!, which she says when hoisting her toddler. It’s from French allez, the imperative of aller meaning “to go” and houp or hop, an onomatopoeic utterance made while expending effort. A related French expression, allez houp-là! or allez oup-là!, for “up there!” or “there you go!” is the source of English hoopla, as in “a commotion.”
This episode is hosted by Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett, and produced by Stefanie Levine.
Books Mentioned in the Episode
| Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein (Bookshop|Amazon) |
| Clear by Carys Davies (Bookshop|Amazon) |
Music Used in the Episode
| Title | Artist | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200 Dollar Blues | Parlor Greens | Driptorch 45 | Colemine Records |
| Until You Remember | Tedeschi Trucks Band | Revelator | Masterworks |
| Cold Duck Time | Eddie Harris & Les McCann | Swiss Movement | Atlantic |
| Come See About Me | Tedeschi Trucks Band | Revelator | Masterworks |
| Bound For Glory | Tedeschi Trucks Band | Revelator | Masterworks |
| Compared To What | Eddie Harris & Les McCann | Swiss Movement | Atlantic |
| We Almost Lost Detroit | Gil Scott-Heron | Bridges | Arista |
| The Other Side | Sure Fire Soul Ensemble | Step Down | Colemine Records |
