The expression tight as a tick is inspired by the idea of being full-to-bursting, like one of those insects when it’s engorged with blood. Tight as a tick can also describe someone who’s quite drunk or very miserly. Other phrases that...
Our conversation about the phrase I beg your pardon reminded Patricia in Greenville, North Carolina, of a playground taunt from her childhood. If one kid said I beg your pardon, another would respond I grant your grace, I hope the cat will spit in...
Sean in New York City is curious about the expression the business end, as in the business end of a gun. It’s simply “the end of an object that fulfills its function or purpose,” such as the business end of a shovel, the business...
Some research suggests that photos of animals tend to capture the attention of humans more readily than photos of plants. Botanists even have a term for “the inability to see or notice the plants in one’s own environment.” They...
Quiz Guy John Chaneski has been reading the novels of author Stephen King’s annoying doppelganger, Stephen Kong, whose titles are like those of King’s, with the exception of one letter. For example, Kong’s first novel recalls the...
Christine in Denver, Colorado, is pondering the etiquette of correcting someone’s pronunciation. How do you approach knowing the actual pronunciation of a word, when it’s not the most common one? For example, Christine learned that the...