In 2007, the public media organization that created A Way with Words had a problem. They loved our show but a deep recession meant the station couldn’t afford to keep producing it. So they canceled it. That could have been the end of A Way...
Brand names, children’s games, and the etiquette of phone conversations. Those clever plastic PEZ dispensers come in all shapes and sizes—but where did the word PEZ come from? The popular candy’s name is the product of wordplay involving...
In whitewater rafting, river left and river right refer to the banks of the river on either side when looking downstream. This is part of a complete episode.
The terms mickey mouse and to mickey mouse can be used as pejoratives. This is part of a complete episode.
Celestial discharge, in medical slang, refers to a patient’s death. This is part of a complete episode.
Who is she from home? meaning “What’s her maiden name?” is a construction common in communities with significant Polish heritage. It’s what linguists call a calque — a word or phrase from another language translated literally...