Do you know where your participle is dangling? Martha and Grant salute National Grammar Day on March 4. Also, when you’re scribbling on a piece of paper, do you find yourself expecting spellcheck to kick in and underline your misspellings with squiggly red lines? A caller wants a term for the act of trying to do offline what can only be done online.

Read the original blog post and listen to this episode. To be regularly notified when new episodes are available, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or with another podcast reader.

Let’s see…there’s National Cheese Day on January 20 and of course National Iguana Awareness Day on September 8. So it’s only fitting that good grammar should get a day of its own, too. National Grammar Day has been proclaimed for March 4 by the the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar, an organization for those “who crave good, clean English – sentences cast well and punctuated correctly.” The group’s site, sums it up this way: “It’s about clarity.”

Martha and Grant are down with that. So here’s to National Grammar Day and also to the wise cautionary note sounded by Baltimore Sun copy editor John McIntyre about the danger of getting too curmudegonly about it all.

A woman calls on behalf of her 12-year-old son, who wants to know the origin of the term “booby trap.” No, the hosts explain, the answer has nothing to do with brassieres. What about these strange fellows?

A Wisconsin resident gets misty-eyed remembering the steaming plates of Beef Manhattan and Turkey Manhattan from his elementary-school days in central Indiana. But why the “Manhattan” in their names? How far back to do you remember eating it? Let us know.

An equestrian wonders about the origin of the expression “lock, stock, and barrel.”

Quiz Guy John Chaneski presents a word puzzle about snowclones, linguists’ joking term for twists on formulaic expressions.

Have you ever done something you regretted, and instinctively reached for the “undo” function, despite being nowhere near a computer? Maybe a page in your book accidentally turns and you reach for the browser’s back button? A Hoosier seeks a term for the act of trying to do offline what can only be done online. Post your suggestions here.

The election’s still months away, but a caller in Okinawa, Japan wonders how the husband of a female U.S. president should be addressed if the husband himself is a former president. The hosts rule out “First Laddie.”

A caller wants to know the origin of the word “piker,” as in a “parsimonious person.”

A few episodes ago, Martha and Grant asked listeners for variations on the road-trip game of padiddle and boy, did they oblige. For starters, how about all these names for the tail-light version of padiddle? Padunkle, padonkle, perdunkle, pasquaddle, paduchi, Popeye, and dinklepink. Personally, we can’t wait for the next time we’re out on the road at night.

This week’s “Slang This!” contestant tries to guess the meaning of the slang terms “goat’s mouth” and “happy sack.”

A caller wants to know which is correct: “pleaded” or “pled”?

An Indianapolis listener who lives on same street where James Whitcomb Riley made his home wonders if the poet’s name has anything to do with the expression associated with living in high style, “the life of Riley.” Click on the “lyrics” button on this transcription from a piano roll to see the full words to the song.

A California caller gets a clarification about when to use “a” and “an” if the next word starts with a vowel sound.

Read the original blog post and listen to this episode.

I moved to Terre Haute, IN in 1952. Some short time after moving, I became aware of beef manhattans served at diners, cafeterias, lunchcounters, etc. Later I also knew of turkey manhattans. A manhattan is a white bread sandwich of thickly(more or less) sliced meat topped with mashed potatoes and smothered in gravy. From your show, it sounds like some later versions used only one slice of bread. I now live in Kokomo, IN, and I believe somewhere in town I could still get a beef or turkey manhattan as a luncheon special.

Cyber-phantom or phantasmagoric

Don and Rita, thanks for your contributions here. Boy, we really opened the floodgates with that turkey Manhattan call. People are even emailing us recipes and photos!

Hmmmmmm, now I’m wondering if there’s a tofu Manhattan for the rest of us!

But Marty, how many of those women actually included their father’s surname when referring to themselves? I don’t think many did.

Have you ever done something you regretted, and instinctively reached for the “undo” function, despite being nowhere near a computer? Maybe a page in your book accidentally turns and you reach for the browser’s back button? A Hoosier seeks a term for the act of trying to do offline what can only be done online.

How about “to confuter”?

Regarding the turkey and beef manhattans — I moved to Indiana only four years ago, but this week i have taken a poll and found people even from Evansville, the southernmost part of Indiana, refer to these dishes as manhattans. My friend Mike (age 28) says his grandfather owned a diner in Southern Indiana and this was always on the menu.

I personally grew up in Tennessee, and I remember eating what would be called Roast Beef Manhattans here, but, for the life of me, I can’t remember what we called them in Tennessee.

I also remember reading in the book “Fifteen at Last” by Candice Ransom a description of Turkey Manhattan, but it wasn’t necessary called that. It was served at a Drug Store diner in the book, which are almost as difficult to find as this book.

I can attest that they taste scrumptious.

Grant and Martha- Thanks so much for answering my question (or rather, my son’s question) about “booby traps”. After listening to the podcast, my brother- who is stationed in Germany- sent me this comment. “Your clip sparked a conversation in our house though. Melanie (his wife) mentioned that the old ladies in the village refer to toddlers as “boobs.” We think it is slang over here for young children of breastfeeding age. It kind of fits in with what the hosts were saying about the origin of the word.” Thought you might enjoy hearing that.

Also, you might be interested to know that our family’s new favorite word is “agathakakological”, a word we heard on one of your past shows. My 10-year-old daughter has been reading a book called “The Worst Witch Saves the Day” by Jill Murphy. One of the characters is someone who appears to be good, but in reality is very evil. Her name? Agatha Cackle! We thought our fellow word nerds would enjoy that fact, too.

Not exactly a computer thing, but I usually drive a manual transmission. When I rent a car I often find myself pushing my left foot to the floor as I approach a red signal.

I originally sent this comment as an E-mail message and Grant asked me to share my thoughts on the board –

I wanted to respond to the discussion you had recently regarding what would be the proper form for addressing or referring to Bill Clinton in the event that Hillary Clinton is elected president. I really liked Grant’s conclusion that he should simply be called Mr. Clinton.

I have been thinking about the broader issue surrounding this question for some time now and I have developed some strong feelings and I would be curious regarding your thoughts.

I believe that people in general are used to and comfortable with the idea of giving deference to people that they regard as their leaders or superiors. However, I don’t think that people have really thought through what this means in a democratic society. I believe strongly that the people we choose or who are appointed to positions of responsibility are not our leaders; rather, they are our employees, our subordinates, if you will. And in that respect, they should be the ones offering deference to members of the general public, not the other way around.

I really believe the idea that positions of public trust give the office holder a right to an elevated status or a title or honorific of some sort is a true violence visited upon the spirit of democracy.

These are the things that I find particularly offensive (going from least offensive to most offensive):

1. The conversion of the name of an office or a job title into an honorific. For example, I would prefer Mr. Bush, Ms. Rice, Mrs. Clinton, Mrs. Pelosi, and Mr. Roberts rather than President Bush, Secretary Rice, Senator Clinton, Speaker Pelosi, and Chief Justice Roberts. I realize that in some cases — particularly in writing — it is a convenient shorthand to use a job title as a personal title. However, I believe there is absolutely no excuse when you are addressing a person face-to-face. In particular, journalists, the guardians of democracy, should not (during press conferences, for instance) be granting this kind of deference to a person whose performance they are supposed to be monitoring. Furthermore, I believe that such job titles should be left in lower case, to emphasize the point. Thus — “Mr. Bush, the U.S. president …”

2. The continued use of a title once a person has left office. This smacks of a kind of title of nobility, another thing that is, or should be, anathema to democracy. (I don’t agree with the point that only one person is due the honorific of “President.” I believe that no one is due such an honorific. However, if such an honorific is used, I don’t believe any one fellow citizen should be granted the kind of elevation implied by exclusive use.)

3. The granting of a title merely because a person is the spouse or other relative of a person who holds public office. In this respect, I find the use of the term “First Lady” not only undemocratic but also condescending to women in general. Women should neither expect nor be granted honors of any kind based on the identity of the persons who might share their beds (and vice versa for that matter). One reason to hope for Hillary Clinton’s election is the possibility that, as Grant suggested, Bill Clinton might put an end to this nonsense.

4. The addressing of people who hold offices such as attorney general and surgeon general as “General So-and-So.” This gets my biggest raspberry not only because it is offensive, but also because it just sounds stupid. Give me a break. They’re not generals.

In re: your first post: AM, are you for real? ’Cause you’re scarin’ me, honey…

Grant? Martha? Help!!!!!!! :0

I elect to decline, Ms.

Egalitarianism is a relative idea: no two people are equal in every aspect.

I’m not in any way suggesting a dictatorship, but with high offices come high duties, many of which are too much for most of us. I don’t see anything wrong with showing respect for someone who dedicates his/her time to making a nation more beneficial to all. I like the term “President”. And I’ll bet you there are several sane individuals who do too. You’ll notice that the mere bestowal of a title upon someone is no damage to your ego, unless that’s all you have…