Fourteen-year-old Harry from Charlotte, Vermont, asks why we say something is clean as a whistle. The phrase refers not to a physical whistle, but to the purity of the sibilant sound. This is part of a complete episode.
More from this show
An 1875 dictionary of the Sussex dialect from southeastern England gives a colorful glimpse of life there in those days. A beever is “an 11 o’clock luncheon.” In parts of Sussex, a ladybug is variously known as a Bishop Barnaby, a fly-golding, or...
A Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, listener says when he was growing up, his family used the word schmutz as a verb. For example, when one parent reminded the other to apply sunscreen to the youngsters, they might say Make sure you schmutz the kids...