What does out of pocket mean? The answer splits down racial lines. Among many African-Americans, if someone’s out of pocket, they’re out of line or unruly. For most non-African-American speakers, out of pocket is primarily used in...
In this week's episode, we go from hip-hop to a public television show about the intra- and inter-class conflicts in a British manor house. We also talk about "flupgrades," what you might call it when a software update...
Who is Boo-Boo the Fool? A listener wonders if this African-American character has any relation the Puerto Rican fool, Juan Bobo. Martha draws a connection to the Spanish term bobo, meaning “fool,” and its Latin root balbus, meaning...
There is always a person greater or lesser than yourself. Grant shares this and other African-American proverbs. This is part of a complete episode.
Among some African-Americans, the term palmer-housing means, “walking with an unusual gait.” A screenwriter connects some dots in his own family’s history when he asks about the origin. This is part of a complete episode.
What’s seditty? Many African-Americans use this term, also spelled saddidy, to mean “stuck-up.” A caller’s heard it all his life, and is curious about the word. This is part of a complete episode.