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Episode 1523

Kids Are Asking

Questions from young listeners and conversations about everything from shifting slang to a bizarre cooking technique. Kids ask about how to talk about finding information on the internet, how tartar sauce got its name, and if the expression high and...

Episode 1424

There Once Was a Gal

Ever try to write a well-known passage in limerick form? It’s harder than you think. How about this one: “There once was a lady who’s sure / All that glitters is golden and pure/ There’s a stairway that heads up to heaven...

Let the Moon Shine Down Your Throat

A Southernism we love: You might as well go out and let the moon shine down your throat. It means you’re taking medicine that won’t be effective or eating something flavorless. Not to be confused with pouring moonshine down your throat, which...

The One Who Brung You

You’ve been reading a book but you’re just not into it. How do you quit it, guilt-free? How do you break up with a book? Also, what do you ask for when you go through the grocery checkout line: bag, sack, or something else? Plus, brung...

Breath and Britches

Here’s a great Southernism: “If someone’s nothing but breath and britches, and means they don’t amount to much.” This is part of a complete episode.

Liketa, Liked To

I liked to died when that ol’ toad-strangler crashed through the veranda! The Southernism liked to, also known as the counterfactual liketa, derives from the sense of like meaning “nearly.” This is part of a complete episode.