A bible lump, or a bible bump, is a ganglion cyst that sometimes forms on the wrist. It’s also called a book cyst, the reason being that people sometimes try to smash them with a book, but don’t try this at home! This is part of a...
In a roadway, the center lane for passing or turning left is sometimes called the chicken lane, a reference to the old game of drivers from opposite directions daring each other in a game of chicken. For the same reason, some people refer to it as...
The poetic Spanish phrase “nadie te quita lo bailado” expresses the idea that once you’ve made a memory, you’ll always have it, no matter what. Literally, it translates as “no one can take away what you’ve danced...
A woman whose first language is Persian wonders about the word enduring. Can she describe the work of being a parent as enduring? While the phrase is grammatically correct, the expression enduring parenting is not good idiomatic English. This is...
The phrase “You’re not the boss of me” may have been popularized by the They Might Be Giants song that serves as the theme for TV’s “Malcolm in the Middle.” But this turn of phrase goes back to at least 1883. This...
Essayist Rebecca Solnit has excellent advice for aspiring writers. This is part of a complete episode.